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| Hna Oliva, my new compañera |
I began praying this week, the first week of a new cambio, to learn humility. The Lord is teaching me humility. He has taught me truly that, even more than simply being the opposite of pride, humility is the moral courage necessary to trust completely in God. To give Him everything you have and hold nothing back. To submit yourself to His will and allow Him to bring it to pass in your life. Humility means trusting in Him when things are hard, and trusting in Him when things are easy. I hope I trusted in Him enough when things were easier, but this week I had the opportunity to learn to trust Him in tiempos más difíciles.
After six weeks with a companion who really did become one of my very best friends, Cambios arrived, and she--to the surprise of both of us--got transferred. I'm pleased to present my new companion, Hermana Oliva! Hermana Oliva has 15 months in the mission, is 23 years old, and comes from Concepción, Chile.:) She's such a sweetheart and knows so much; I'm grateful to have the opportunity to learn from such a seasoned and knowledgeable missionary. Maybe I'll even have the chance to kill her ;) [missionary slang for when your companion finishes her mission and goes home]. Haha. I'm very grateful for my new companion--she's wonderful--but change has always been really hard for me... And going from getting along absolutely flawlessly, laughing all the time and enjoying just being and working together, with Hermana Farias, to trying to adjust to a new companion with different interests and a different personality really threw me for a loop. I really struggled for two or three solid days--not feeling motivated, and not feeling very happy, either... Not nearly as happy as I had felt the entire cambio before. But, after a LOT of desperate prayers, Heavenly Father worked a miracle in my heart yesterday, and I'm doing okay now... He taught me how to trust Him, and then He blessed me with a mighty change of heart. In an effort to thank Him for sticking with me so patiently the last few days, I felt strongly to share with you a few of the things I have been able to learn.
They always say that home is where the heart is. No matter where we are in the world or what we are doing, when things get rough or we feel alone, we will think of and miss our earthly home. I know that, while I was struggling these last few days, I really missed my home. I really missed my family. I felt far away from them, and thus, in many moments, I felt quite alone. But my Father in Heaven reached out to me, in that tender, loving way of His, and invited me to come unto Him in prayer--to rely on His strength and to trust in His love in this time when my earthly family is thousands of miles away. In my Father, I found a peace and a relief that I have never before experienced. I can truly say that, now, I have a relationship with Him that is stronger--I know without a doubt that He knows me, that He loves me, and that He will be there by my side in every difficult moment for the rest of my mission and for the rest of my life.
As children of God living here in this mortal world, we will inevitably pass through trials and tribulations that will test our strength, sometimes even to the very foundation of our faith and testimony. It is my hope that we can all develop a strong enough relationship with our dear Father in Heaven so that when these difficult challenges come, as they undoubtedly will, our heart can begin to long for our heavenly home and propel us to take the necessary steps to make it back to His presence.
Life will always be full of high highs, low lows, really high highs, and really low lows, but not because He doesn't love us--exactly the opposite. He loves us SO much that He wants us to grow, and He knows that trial and tribulation are usually the best teachers. He loves us SO much that He wants us to turn to Him, to rely on Him, and to trust in Him--to give Him our troubles and burdens and let Him help us to carry them. Through every trial that we experience, His voice will continue calling out to us, "Please let me help you. I love you." And there are many who will choose to turn away, believing that because He allows them to suffer afflictions means He doesn't love them, but I know without a doubt that that is not the case. He is always right there, with His infinite and all-powerful Atonement, ready to succor us in times of need.
When our body doesn't have the strength to take another step, or our heart the strength to take another beat, He mercifully, lovingly infuses us with that strength we need--the strength to bear our burdens with a little more ease--and then walks by our side every single step of the way. I do not doubt that we have a Savior who lives and loves us--the same Savior of the world whose only desire is to serve His beloved brothers and sisters--because I have felt Him bearing up my burdens and walking by my side when I do not have anything left within me to give and I cannot do it alone. I love Him for that, more than words can say. He is my Brother and my Teacher, my Savior and my Friend. I would walk through the fiery furnace and back if it meant that I could only come to know Him better and grow to love Him even more dearly. I love my Savior. I know He lives. His arms are ever extended towards us, ready to embrace us and infuse us with the hope and strength we need to continue walking on the path back to our heavenly home.
Come unto Him, all ye who are heavy laden, and He will give you rest.
I love you.
Hermana Sanford
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| Hna Marambio and her daughters with Hna Farias |
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| Happy New Year! |
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| Tan lines on our feet |
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