Today was such a great day. I absolutely love Sundays!!! I look forward to the day every week. It gives me a chance to recharge for the week and start over. Anyway, the reason today was so great is because it was exactly what I needed today. You know those Sundays when you are sitting in church and you feel like everything that is said is specifically meant for you? That was me today. To start off we had an incredible Sacrament Meeting. I am still new to my ward so today I had my 5 seconds of whatever it is, either fame or embarrassment to stand and be recognized that I'm a new member in sacrament meeting. That wasn't the good part though. We had two cute sisters who happen to be twins speak that recently both returned home from missions this past November. They did such an incredible job. They invited an incredible spirit to the meeting and made my desire to serve a mission grow even more. They talked about how they both had desired to serve a mission since they were in primary and they were both so happy they did. They talked about a few different experiences but what really got me is when they both talked about how the mission changed their lives and some of the lessons they learned. I felt like the whole time the spirit was telling me, "This is what you want... BELIEVE ME!!" After sacrament meeting I wanted to run up and hug them both and tell them good job and thank you but so many people were talking to them so I thought I would try and catch them after Relief Society. During the Sunday School hour I attended my first Temple Prep. Class. I couldn't believe I was actually sitting in a temple prep class. It made me so excited!!! Today the lesson was about how to prepare to enter into the temple. We talked about pretty generic things: Staying morally clean, being a full tithe payer, keeping the word of wisdom, and Sabbath observance; you know stuff like that. It was a comforting feeling to feel like I have a pretty good grip on those things and that I really am trying to live my life in a way that I can worthily enter the temple in the next couple of months. After that lesson we had Relief Society. Relief Society is and has always been my favorite meeting... well I love Sacrament Meeting too but I love the discussion in Relief Society and just the amazing sisters that are constantly surrounding me. Today our lesson was on 'Love thy neighbor as you love thy self.' It was a great lesson to reflect on how I can be better about loving and showing compassion for others. AHH I love church!!! As soon as Relief Society was over I literally run up to those two sisters that spoke in Sacrament and hugged them and thanked them for their talks. The words that they spoke and the spirit they invited stuck with me and kept resonating in my head throughout my meetings. They were so kind and loving. What amazing sisters!!! I told them how I am working on my mission papers and they were so excited for me. They were giving me all these tips and telling me about how much it really will change my life. I talked to them about the opposition I have been facing and such and asked some questions and it was like the spirit was telling me not to fear and reconfirming to me how bad I really do want to do this. 'There is no reason to fear' were the words running through my mind all day today. Also, little do these sisters know.. they were literally an answer to my prayers. The past couple of weeks I have been struggling with making friends and they were just so sweet and kind. I feel like I made two lifetime friends today and I am grateful for that. I know that my father in heaven does hear my prayers and he really is so aware of me and my life. I am so grateful for that.
With that said I am ready! I'm starting my mission prep class this week and I'm hoping to be able to start working on my papers again so I can get them in. I am seriously so excited!!! The gospel is true and I love it so much!! I can't wait to share it with the world, but as for right now I will do my best to share it with those I can reach.
Xoxo;
Sister Goates
(doesn't that just sound good?)
How exciting, Merilee! That makes two sisters I know who are preparing to go on a mission :) And, yes, those twins are awesome! Having grown up with them, I can see how a mission has changed their lives. I know you will love the changes serving a mission will bring to your life. Once again, how exciting!
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