Sooo the big news of the last 8 weeks...We took our first
P-day Monday! Well, half a P-day, but it was glorious! I can’t believe how good
it felt to disconnect and how powered up we were to dig in again. But I also
had that much less time to write. And that’s ok.
We’re doing the same again today actually, so this will take
discipline and speed to get a letter off. We were invited to join one of the
districts of young missionaries on a hike in the “mountains,” otherwise known
as “hills” in Utah, but I’m excited to see what’s there is to see. Pretty sure
we can handle the altitude- we’ll see about the humidity, the poison ivy,
spiders, mosquitoes, tics, armadillos and possum!
As a side note- I turned 60 last week and I hurt
everywhere! So there’s that! But I spent
a 9- hour day interview day surrounded by our missionaries which made me very,
very happy. They spoiled me rotten with flowers, cupcakes and love notes all
day!
What a wonderful week we had this past week interviewing all
the missionaries down south of us in Arkansas and tiny bit of OK. Tomorrow
we’ll leave for a 5- day road trip to complete the interviews up in Missouri
and end with a baptism and confirmation in Stockton. It takes us 3 weeks to
complete, but such a wonderful opportunity to be with each and every one of our
250 missionaries!
The progress and enthusiasm for the work has exploded
since the mission tour with Elder Aidukitis and Meredith! Our finding numbers
have doubled and tripled in some districts and our missionaries are loving it
as success feeds on itself! For too long they have played it safe with their
goals so that they remain easily achievable, but with little fire. That fire
has been lit and they have been reminded they have something of value. This has
resulted in bold invitations and people are responding in record numbers! The
world is hungry for hope. They want to be connected by faith to The One person
who won’t fail them!
I absolutely love this scripture in the Book of Mormon because
of its relevance to us today...
“And now my sons remember, remember it is upon the rock
of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your
foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his
shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat
upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of
misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a
sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.”
(Helaman 5:12)
Rick and I are privileged to live in a wonderful bubble-
removed from the world with it’s “mighty winds of strife” and “hail of
contention.” We get to eat, sleep, speak, think and do “Jesus” every day- all
day! It’s a unique time of our life and in truth it was what we chose for
nearly 6 months before we left home as well! Yes, we are aware of the
horrible conflict in the world, we’re just not immersed in it. Knowing or not knowing about it changes nothing
for us! The answer to all of it is still the same!
We’ll never be strong enough, smart enough, evasive enough
to navigate the challenges we see on our own! The adversary has become so good
at chaos and when we swim and wallow in it- we drown in despair. We
begin to believe that we all feel the same hopelessness. That it will never
get better again! But I love this comforting truth expressed by Elder Stanfill,
the area 70, we were invited to
participate with in a local Stake Conference with this weekend.
He said it would be easy for the rank-and-file member to mistakenly
believe that the Prophet and his Apostles are hold up in the temple somewhere
completely isolated from world events and naive of all that is taking place. That
is simply not the case. They are completely aware! Totally dialed in.
He was with President Nelson this past week when someone
asked the following question: “With all this going on in this world, what
concerns you the most and what would you have your members do?” His
response, “Concern? Concern? I don’t have any concern; I only have
gratitude!” Of course, he meant gratitude for our Savior! “He is not
at the least taken by surprise by any of these events. We live in the end times
which were prophesied would come. We shouldn’t be surprised, but neither should
we be afraid. All things are known to the Lord. I have tremendous optimism for
our future as we let God direct our path, access His grace, and take his out-stretched
hand of mercy! He will deny none who will come to Him and learn to hear His
voice”
My whole life has taught me that God’s grace is sufficient,
in the sense that when we tap into His might, mind and strength, we can
have joy even when our circumstances remain the same! That’s nothing
short of a miracle and I talk about it all the time, because I’ve experienced
it so profoundly! The only way we overcome the strive and the
whirlwinds, and keep our eyes focused on other people rather than ourselves
and our own needs and sorrows, is when we tap into His might,
mind, and strength. Ours is too small. His grace doesn’t come only after
“all we can do “as so many mistakenly believe. It comes before, during and
after all we can do! It is the only way we “DO” at all! How
I wish I had a trumpet that could blow the sound of His redeeming love and the
enabling power of his Grace.
I love my job here! I love being immersed in the Gospel; the
“Good News.” No matter the headline, it will always be the only good news! The source
of peace.
I love our missionaries- every one of them! Sometimes I feel
I’ll explode with all the love God has blessed us to feel for them. He doesn’t
divide it when new ones come, he multiplies it! And they are still
coming in huge numbers. We get 34 in less than 2 weeks for our 2nd
transfer... How blessed we are to have this small window of time with them.
They teach me so much. I hope we help them too!
I love that they are growing and having experiences and
making discoveries that will bless them for the rest of their lives! Why
wouldn’t I want to support that! While so many others their age are
turned inward, they are learning to turn outward and love
others. One said to me the other day, “I love to serve others. I don’t care
one lick about how sweaty or dirty we are when volunteering for yard work or
clean up or at the soup kitchen. It just feels so good!” Another said, “What
surprised me the most was how easily I love people who are nothing like me and
who I’d never have crossed paths with!” Another said, “Sis Collins, it
worked! I prayed I could love my companion like you and President asked me to
do and it worked! God gave me the ability to see him as He does and just serve
him. As I did, I could feel love where I’d only felt annoyance.”
The world could use more people who forget themselves, serve
others and accept God’s gracious gifts!
Hope your week is wonderful! Turn off the news and go do
something for somebody else! You’ll feel
better, I promise!
