Joy in Temple Covenants!

Today I just received a phone call from one of my mission companions, Emily Peck, with some of the greatest news!  One of our recent converts had been running through her head all week, and so today she decided to call her, Dona Clair, baptised February 29, 2010 into the Caxingui Ward of the Sao Paulo Stake in the Sao Paulo North Mission, Brasil.  She said that as she chat briefly with Dona Clair, this sweet older woman expressed her excitement about being able to receive her patriarchal blessing later on this week as well as her current enrollment in a temple preparation class in preparation for her temple endowment which she will be receiving next month!  This came to me as some of the most wonderful news!!!  I just had to post this JOYous moment asap on my blog for the world to see!  Dona Clair will be entering the temple to make covenants with our Father in Heaven next month! What a wonderful blessing to have been able to be a part of her life, participate in her story, and see, even a year after her baptism, the great blessings that come from faithfulness and consistency in the church.  This sweet woman was such an example to me of perfect childlike faith.  She believed so readily and heartily the doctrines as they were taught to her and she knew, from the beginning, that this gospel, this church, was the thing that had been missing from her life for so long.  She loves the church, and has grown so much even in the short time that we've known her, and I feel so blessed to have her be a part of my mission story as well.  Sweet Dona Clair, PARABENS por sua fidelidade! Nos a amamos e regozijamos em saber de seu progresso e desejo de continuar firme neste caminho tao estreito e apertado. Sei que realmente, a Senhora esta no caminho que leva de verdade a vida eterna!  Parabens minha amiga! Te amo!!! <3 <3 <3

I hope they call me on a mission!

I think that in my previous post I failed to mention that I am planning to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I shared the testimony I have about this church and the gospel of Jesus Christ, and I feel so strongly about it that I have determined to spend the next 18 months of my life serving the Lord and spreading the good news about this gospel to wherever the Lord would have me go. I officially submit my mission papers to the first presidency of the church on Wednesday, April 29! President Shollenburger told me I should receive my official call in about two weeks! That means next Wednesday or Thursday I should receive it! I am very excited about it and wait with anticipation! I have begun preparing for the rigors of missionary life by starting to exercise, planning a more effective scripture study plan, studying teaching for my new Relief Society teacher calling, and trying my very best to make every hour of my day spent worthwhile. I will soon be on the Lord's time and not my own and must train myself to be able to work and serve from sun-up to sun-down. It is a daunting task, requiring me to be better in areas that I have a history of being poor in, but I KNOW that with the Lord's help, I can become stronger and more able to fulfill the work that he has for me to. I am really having to train myself to get up on time, get to bed earlier, study the scriptures more, etc. Spring term has definitely helped me to make great leaps in each of these areas! Boy am I thankful for Spring term! It is so nice to be free of a life with no spare time... a life that is controlled by teachers, papers, exams, etc. Now I have the freedom to choose what I will spend my time doing and I have a greater desire to not let that time go wasted. How precious time is! I hope that as I continue to prepare, I'll be able to better manage my time and understand the scriptures and gain more knowledge and light about life and the gospel. Hopefully future blog entries will be focused on the things I am learning and feeling and will be in some way enlightening to read. Stay tuned! Next week I should be one step closer to serving: receiving my official mission call!