Frohes neues Jahr!
Well, my friends, another week gone by at light speed!
I probably sound incredibly cheesy at this point, but I am just so stinking happy.
There are, OF COURSE, moments of sadness, insecurity, doubt, loneliness, feeling inadequite, ect. The thing is, I know how to deal with it. The Lord has given us these amazing tools to learn lessons from low points and have even higher high points because of the trials we go through.
A few quotes that help me (can’t quote it perfectly, but) from Brigham Young, every trial we have is designed for us, to better us and from the Joseph Smith move: sometimes the Lord brings you low so that He can lift you higher. Also, D&C 24:8
This week we met with a new investigator, his name is Stavros Nikolopolous, from Greece, and he wants to learn more because he believes he can be a better person as he comes closer to God. Sebastian is still a 17-year-old, but is battling through life like a champ and Natalie is doing really well and Sister Pratt is a rockstar missionary!
One of the coolest experiences of the week was yesterday, actually with our dear friend Ada. She was raised in Africa and then moved to USA and now lives in Deutschland. Her husband is a producer and she was a model, she is a cook and she is just amazing. She has a lot of health challenges.
We visited her because she wasn’t able to make it to church and we just wanted to make sure she was okay! We brought muffins (she was on a diet but ate them anyways.. also thanks mom for the mix!) and she LOVED them. Then we were able to talk to her family a little bit and share a spiritual thought with her. She really loved it and she just entirely lit up after we closed with a prayer. She embraced us and, excitedly, said we would HAVE to come back over soon.
That’s the point of it all, you know. You can just brighten one day and it’s like no one has ever rejected the message. It’s just this amazing time to study, practice, learn and grow. It is a time you get a front row seat to these miracles, one of them being the change in yourself. That’s the BEST part of missionary work. Charity- in German it’s called Nächstenliebe and it literally is next, like the person next you, love, put together. It is a true love of Christ that we can share with others.
The coolest thing about this whole thing is that what sounds like work is actually a giant blessing. What a good deal.
We had a great lesson this week with Sister McCormack, who is an older missionary in our ward– she’s super good and she and her husband will finish their missions at the same time as us– and in it I really learned that success as a missionary comes when we just give our hearts to the Lord and the work.
Maybe that’s why I’m so happy, because I know all I have to do is just work hard. I can do that.
Love,
Sister Smith
Brooke'S. Blog 