Dearest
Family,
If
you were to ask who is the tiredest girl in the U.K. today, who do you think it
would be?
It
certainly wouldn't be the queen.
It
wouldn't be Princess Kate either.
It
wouldn't even be the lady who is probably running a marathon at this very
moment.
Nope.
It would be me. I take the cake. I win the prize. The gold star is mine. I am
the most knackered, shattered, eyes-closey, body-can't-move, tired girl in the
world!
Which
reminds me of a great quote I read this morning from Joseph B. Wirthlin:
"It’s
easy to feel overwhelmed. With all the pressures and demands on our time and
the stress we face each day, it’s little wonder we get tired. Many feel
discouraged because they have not measured up to their potential. Others simply
feel too weak to contribute. And so, as the flock moves on, gradually, almost
imperceptibly, some fall behind.
“Everyone
has felt tired and weary at one time or another. I seem to feel more so now
than I did when I was younger. Joseph Smith, Brigham Young, even Jesus Christ
knew what it meant to be tired. I do not wish to underestimate the weight that
members of the Church bear upon their shoulders, nor do I minimize the
emotional and spiritual trials they face. These can be heavy and often difficult
to bear.
“I
do, however, have a testimony of the renewing power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that the Lord ‘giveth power to the faint; and to
them that have no might he increaseth strength.’ When I feel tired, I remember the words of the
Prophet Joseph Smith:
“’Shall
we not go on in so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage,
brethren; and on, on to the victory! Let your hearts rejoice, and be
exceedingly glad. Let the earth break forth into singing. …
“’… Let
the woods and all the trees of the field praise the Lord; … and let all the
sons of God shout for joy!’
“For you
members of the Church who hold back because of feelings of inadequacy, I plead
with you to step forward, put your shoulder to the wheel, and push. Even when
you feel that your strength can add little, the Church needs you. The Lord
needs you. Remember that the Lord often chooses ‘the weak things of the world”
to accomplish His purposes."
I pretty
much think that's wonderful and am grateful for the uplift that it gave to
me.
So. Other
than exhausting, this week was wonderful. It was pretty emotionally trying, if
you want to know the truth, but luckily trials are for our benefit, and I will
grow. That's a happy thing.
Monday we
went and played golf with the Elders. More grass flew in my case than the
actual golf ball, but hey, I did my best. Elder Bayles fell down like Happy
Gilmore when he was trying to golf. Sister Pugh and I were equally parred
(hahahaha). And Elder Holman is basically good at everything, so he killed us
all. We were just at a random free driving range.
Tuesday
was good. We did weekly planning. Weekly planning is long.
Wednesday
we got to have our Interviews with President! It was the best thing of my life.
I was able to receive a lot of wisdom and encouragement and compliments from
President Brown, and those mean so much. I absolutely love President.
Thursday
we had a great appointment--one of our members has invited her friends to take the
discussions so we went over and taught the first part of the Restoration lesson.
That was pretty great. It was kind of sad though, because that is exactly what
missionary work should be--members inviting missionaries to come and teach
their friend, the member being the driving force--but because that hasn't
happened too often at all on my mission, it was hard to know my place in the
situation because it was so unfamiliar. That probably means I don't know how to
inspire members to do missionary work, but I have to say that it was a pleasant
experience and we are teaching her again this week. I canny wait--she is
wonderful, aye!
Friday we
had Nacho Night at the church (although the Nachos that the Elders made were mingin...they even called and apologized
after they'd tasted them, haha) and we played some games like put a sticky note
on your forehead and guess what you are (I was a helicopter) and some chair
football. It was fun but we were all in dresses and my competitive side got the
better of me which was kind of bad...but I won...so I guess it couldn't have
really been that bad, eh?
Money
can't buy everything,
Money
can't make you a king,
Money
cannot bring success,
Money
can't buy happiness,
But of
one thing I am sure,
Money
doesn't make you poor,
Money
doesn't make you sad,
Money
can't be all that bad!
Something
like that, aye. :)
Saturday
we helped Alison in her garden. It was fun because mowers here are really more
like hoovers than anything else and you don't mow in straight lines. You just vacuum
the grass. It's hilarious and I had a blast.
Church
was good. I gave a five-minute talk on the Godhead. One member said to me
after, "Your talk was pretty average today." He was right. It was
one-hundred-percent, uncle-monkey, average. I was going for simple and I got
it. I was quite chuffed with that, and it was a talk that investigators could
understand, hopefully.
Our
friend, Kimberley, came to church again! She's the Family History find and so
that was just lovely. She's sweet.
We also
taught the Restoration to a wonderful man named Graham last night. He had so
many questions and it made me remember that on my mission, the times I have
been the absolute most happy are when I've taught that lesson to someone who's
never heard it before. It really doesn't get any better than that.
The
Church is true and has been restored today! My testimony of the Restoration has
primarily developed on my mission--and I am eternally grateful for that!
:)
Love,
Sister
Ricks
Xx
