The Lord Loves Me

Wow...last week was a doosey huh? I want you all to not fret over me; I have been blessed with A TON of strength and comfort. No excessive crying or my mind running away from the work. The Lord has been good to me and I've been fasting and praying for all of you to feel the way that I do. :) Here's a couple of things the Lord has blessed me with:

1. SUN - So out of the ordinary for the Couv (Vancouver slang...good times.) ...the sun has been shining and I feel like it has been just for me. I feel warm and happy....like the Lord's just giving me a big hug all day long.

2. FENN - Elder Fenn (Carmen's cousin) just became our new Zone Leader and just having a Fenn here has given me a lot of comfort...the Lord knows what he's doin. ;) We barely know each other and he was one of the few that saw me right after I had heard the news and was very concerned. I felt impressed to ask him for a blessing a few days later and he did last Tuesday...it was very sweet and I have been going strong ever since.

3. KNOWLEDGE - Also last Tuesday at our District Meeting the Zone Leaders talked about President Greer's training with them which was all about Personality Ethic vs. Character Ethic...are we just waltzing into homes with a missionary persona and simply teaching truths vs. are these truths we teach a part of us...is the gospel our character...is it who we are...do we know it for a fact. This really hit me hard...because just like Dad told me in his email last week, I have taken these current events and used them to preach. I know that the Plan of Salvation is not just nice thoughts put together to make sense of life...it is absolutely real and true, it is all about progression and God taking care of His children no matter what, or else how would you explain how calm I have felt about my Grandpa passing and where my abuelo has been this whole time? I am excited for my grandpa to whip some of those stubborn spirits into shape! I've been walking into every home completely assured that what we have to teach is literal and spiritual...it is not just something I merely believe and would like to share, it is something I know and have to share because I am living proof! I have had a couple of neat experiences with teaching the Plan of Salvation to Ma and sharing a thought with a recent convert's non-member husband who had just lost a cousin last week.

4. PRAYER & FASTING - My first prayer after hearing that Grandpa had passed was kinda startling...I knelt and said, "So grandpa's with you now huh...I'd tell anyone else to take care of him, but I know I don't have to tell you. I felt a wave of assurance wash over me...and I chatted more about how cool it was that he's had us both serve missions and how pumped I am to share this experience together.

I'm not going to lie...I did pretty much lose my appetite, so fasting wasn't too excruciating... ;) but really though, I could feel how powerful it is to hunger for the Lord's blessings, to forget about human need and just offer my fast to him to watch over all of you at home and especially grandma.

So yeah...I think those are the blessings I have time to highlight...yup, the Lord loves us...just FYI. :)

We ended up moving Cr's baptism to this Sunday 2/12/12 for after church. We both felt that it needed to be to prepare him just a bit more and it has been going really well. He's such a weird/punk teenager and I just love him. :) This is going to be cool ladies and gentlemen, just you wait! Mary. is rockin keeping the Word of Wisdom and is 5 seconds away from the goal line...we had one hilarious lesson on Chastity with her....I'll save those stories for when I can tell you face to face. ;) (Thank you Alard family for being masters of poker faces.) Mary's prayers are also the cutest, most sweet I've ever heard...she's like a little girl whose just learning and understanding things for the first time...truly amazing to watch her spiritual eyes be opened.

Well, I love you guys...you know that, so let's all do what grandpa told me, "You know what I expect of you." Simply, I think it means to be happy. We've got this ya'll. :)