April 27,
2015
FYI: The burpee
is a full body exercise used in strength
training and as an aerobic exercise. The basic movement is performed
in four steps and known as a "four-count burpee":
Spiritual
experience this week. So we got permissions to run a 5k on
Saturday. It was my first one so I was so excited and how cool that I
get to do this on my mission
Well, a week before the race I was starting training for another race I
am doing in June with Mark. So I did some burpees which I am not too
familiar with and did some running. Well I think I was doing the
burpees right because my leg became super sore and made it hard to
walk on it. The nurse told me to ice it and not exercise for some
time. So I began to do this. It still hurt the first 3 days and about
Thursday is when I began to see improvement. So we started with a
short run to prep for the race. It still would hurt but I would ice it
right after and it would feel fine. So Saturday came and we weren't
sure if we could do the whole thing since we didn't get to prepare and
my leg still recovering and sister Vance has had some stomach problems
but we still tried. Well as we started running we were flying. We were
going at a really good pace and we both felt no pain. As we kept going
and was hitting mile 2 I was thinking how is this possible? How are we
still running and not being in pain? As I asked this I felt God
telling me it was because he loves me. He loves us. This race is such
a small thing but meant a lot for us to get to do it and we both felt
the spirit so strong as we ran that God was giving us such strength to
do the whole 5k. What's the miracle part is that we did it in 30
minutes! It was so unheard of for us. Usually it took us 20 minutes to
do a mile and a half. So we figured it may take us an hour to run this
due to our health. But no. God loved us that he gave us strength to
not only finish the whole race but to do it in 30 minutes! We felt so
happy after and it honestly was a true witness that God is there in
all things. Small or big.
Saturday. It was my first one so I was so excited and how cool that I
get to do this on my mission
Well, a week before the race I was starting training for another race I
am doing in June with Mark. So I did some burpees which I am not too
familiar with and did some running. Well I think I was doing the
burpees right because my leg became super sore and made it hard to
walk on it. The nurse told me to ice it and not exercise for some
time. So I began to do this. It still hurt the first 3 days and about
Thursday is when I began to see improvement. So we started with a
short run to prep for the race. It still would hurt but I would ice it
right after and it would feel fine. So Saturday came and we weren't
sure if we could do the whole thing since we didn't get to prepare and
my leg still recovering and sister Vance has had some stomach problems
but we still tried. Well as we started running we were flying. We were
going at a really good pace and we both felt no pain. As we kept going
and was hitting mile 2 I was thinking how is this possible? How are we
still running and not being in pain? As I asked this I felt God
telling me it was because he loves me. He loves us. This race is such
a small thing but meant a lot for us to get to do it and we both felt
the spirit so strong as we ran that God was giving us such strength to
do the whole 5k. What's the miracle part is that we did it in 30
minutes! It was so unheard of for us. Usually it took us 20 minutes to
do a mile and a half. So we figured it may take us an hour to run this
due to our health. But no. God loved us that he gave us strength to
not only finish the whole race but to do it in 30 minutes! We felt so
happy after and it honestly was a true witness that God is there in
all things. Small or big.
Testimony:
Will of God
It's been a
very interesting few weeks for me. I feel these weeks the
Lord has taught me so much. I am trying to remember it all and write it
all down so I don't forget.
A key lesson I learned more about is the will of God.
There is a talk by Elder Maxwell called “Swallowed Up in the Will of
the Lord”. This talk has changed my life and my mission. I wish I
learned this lesson long ago but as I have been praying about this
lesson I feel it would not have had such an impact on me now if I did
learn this earlier.
My testimony has grown not just inches but feet just through what God
has shown me this past week.
I have struggled throughout my mission about many things with the way
things are done.
A few are how we plan. At times I feel there is a better way to plan
than going by Preach My Gospel. I also struggled with some of the
lessons and how we teach. Preach My Gospel encourages us to invite
others to be baptized on the first or second lesson. I always thought
that's way pushy I am not gonna do that. I don't want these people to
run off. I want to be their friends and gain a good relationship with
them... And so on.
Well brother and sisters, I had this all wrong. This whole time I have
been selfish and in a sense I have been telling God how he should run
things. (Find scripture on telling God what to do)
Boy, when I realized this I knew what serious mistake I have made. This
very thing led me to my knees and helped me learn this wonderful
lesson of the will of God.
When the leader from Salt Lake came to our leadership meeting a few weeks ago I was a
little closed hearted because they addressed the very things I
disagreed with about missionary work. But it was not a coincidence
that they did train us in these things.
I remember the impact the spirit made on my heart that day. It was a
day when my eyes opened to a new world. But it wasn't new because I
knew these things before. It was a transformed world that helped me
have a change of heart and see the importance of doing things God
wants them to be done.
As I furthered my search on this topic of submitting my will to God’s,
I found such peace in what Elder Maxwell says in his talk.
He says:
"So many of us are kept from eventual consecration because we
mistakenly think that, somehow, by letting our will be swallowed up in
the will of God, we lose our individuality (see Mosiah 15:7). What we
are really worried about, of course, is not giving up self, but
selfish things--like our roles, our time, our preeminence, and our
possessions. No wonder we are instructed by the Savior to lose
ourselves (see Luke 9:24). He is only asking us to lose the old self
in order to find the new self. It is not a question of one’s losing
identity but of finding his true identity"
I have a firm testimony of this because this is exactly what my
mission has done for me.
Before my mission and earlier on in life, I was a shy person, I didn't
really know who I was or what my purpose was. If you ask any
missionary in my mission especially my companions they would tell you
they cannot believe me when I say to them who I was before my
mission. They don't see it and it doesn't make sense to them that I
could ever be shy. Because as I have strived to submit my will to
Heavenly Father's I have found my TRUE IDENTITY. I gave up all my
wants to do what He wants and by so doing I found myself. I found
someone I love. I found myself confident and becoming more Christ like
and so much more happier. I would have never known this was possible
until I had the faith to give up me for something greater. A real me.
It's hard to not know the unknown of what will happen if we do
something. I know it's human fear we all have. But! It's worth finding
out. It’s worth everything to find out if God will fulfill his promised
blessings by doing as he has asked of me to do.
I was reading in Preach My Gospel under Christ like attributes in
humility section. This section goes hand and hand with consecration.
It says:
"Humility is willingness to submit to the will of the Lord and to give
the Lord the honor for what is accomplished. It includes gratitude for
His blessings and acknowledgment of your constant need for His divine
help. Humility is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of spiritual
strength. When you humbly trust Him and acknowledge His power and
mercy, you can have the assurance that His commandments are for your
good. You are confident that you can do whatever the Lord requires of
you if you rely on Him. You are also willing to trust His chosen
servants and follow their counsel. Humility will help you as you
strive to be obedient, to work hard, and serve selflessly"
I would like to conclude with this because it really sums things up.
It teaches why humility is important and what blessings come from
being humble. And humility is part of sacrifice and consecration.
I know Heavenly Father loves me. I wish I could show my emotions with
this email because my deep love and devotion to him is so strong and
more powerful than words in an email. But know that He is our Father.
Please know he cares. And never forget what treasures he lays ahead
for us. He is just waiting to pour out blessings in our lives and he
will as we ask for them, submit our will to his will. As we sacrifice
and do things his ways. As we humble ourselves. He knows us more than
we can ever comprehend. He knows all things which is why faith is so
crucial and by having a firm testimony that God knows all things and
that he loves us, Our faith becomes stronger. We have no need to fear
of what’s unknown because we know it will always be glorious and
greater than what we had before.
I love my life. I love my self. Even more I love my mission, my
family, my friends, and most of all I love God and Jesus Christ. And I
know this church and gospel is theirs. Which means I know it's true.
I leave you my testimony and my last email of my mission in the name
of Jesus Christ amen.
Lord has taught me so much. I am trying to remember it all and write it
all down so I don't forget.
A key lesson I learned more about is the will of God.
There is a talk by Elder Maxwell called “Swallowed Up in the Will of
the Lord”. This talk has changed my life and my mission. I wish I
learned this lesson long ago but as I have been praying about this
lesson I feel it would not have had such an impact on me now if I did
learn this earlier.
My testimony has grown not just inches but feet just through what God
has shown me this past week.
I have struggled throughout my mission about many things with the way
things are done.
A few are how we plan. At times I feel there is a better way to plan
than going by Preach My Gospel. I also struggled with some of the
lessons and how we teach. Preach My Gospel encourages us to invite
others to be baptized on the first or second lesson. I always thought
that's way pushy I am not gonna do that. I don't want these people to
run off. I want to be their friends and gain a good relationship with
them... And so on.
Well brother and sisters, I had this all wrong. This whole time I have
been selfish and in a sense I have been telling God how he should run
things. (Find scripture on telling God what to do)
Boy, when I realized this I knew what serious mistake I have made. This
very thing led me to my knees and helped me learn this wonderful
lesson of the will of God.
When the leader from Salt Lake came to our leadership meeting a few weeks ago I was a
little closed hearted because they addressed the very things I
disagreed with about missionary work. But it was not a coincidence
that they did train us in these things.
I remember the impact the spirit made on my heart that day. It was a
day when my eyes opened to a new world. But it wasn't new because I
knew these things before. It was a transformed world that helped me
have a change of heart and see the importance of doing things God
wants them to be done.
As I furthered my search on this topic of submitting my will to God’s,
I found such peace in what Elder Maxwell says in his talk.
He says:
"So many of us are kept from eventual consecration because we
mistakenly think that, somehow, by letting our will be swallowed up in
the will of God, we lose our individuality (see Mosiah 15:7). What we
are really worried about, of course, is not giving up self, but
selfish things--like our roles, our time, our preeminence, and our
possessions. No wonder we are instructed by the Savior to lose
ourselves (see Luke 9:24). He is only asking us to lose the old self
in order to find the new self. It is not a question of one’s losing
identity but of finding his true identity"
I have a firm testimony of this because this is exactly what my
mission has done for me.
Before my mission and earlier on in life, I was a shy person, I didn't
really know who I was or what my purpose was. If you ask any
missionary in my mission especially my companions they would tell you
they cannot believe me when I say to them who I was before my
mission. They don't see it and it doesn't make sense to them that I
could ever be shy. Because as I have strived to submit my will to
Heavenly Father's I have found my TRUE IDENTITY. I gave up all my
wants to do what He wants and by so doing I found myself. I found
someone I love. I found myself confident and becoming more Christ like
and so much more happier. I would have never known this was possible
until I had the faith to give up me for something greater. A real me.
It's hard to not know the unknown of what will happen if we do
something. I know it's human fear we all have. But! It's worth finding
out. It’s worth everything to find out if God will fulfill his promised
blessings by doing as he has asked of me to do.
I was reading in Preach My Gospel under Christ like attributes in
humility section. This section goes hand and hand with consecration.
It says:
"Humility is willingness to submit to the will of the Lord and to give
the Lord the honor for what is accomplished. It includes gratitude for
His blessings and acknowledgment of your constant need for His divine
help. Humility is not a sign of weakness; it is a sign of spiritual
strength. When you humbly trust Him and acknowledge His power and
mercy, you can have the assurance that His commandments are for your
good. You are confident that you can do whatever the Lord requires of
you if you rely on Him. You are also willing to trust His chosen
servants and follow their counsel. Humility will help you as you
strive to be obedient, to work hard, and serve selflessly"
I would like to conclude with this because it really sums things up.
It teaches why humility is important and what blessings come from
being humble. And humility is part of sacrifice and consecration.
I know Heavenly Father loves me. I wish I could show my emotions with
this email because my deep love and devotion to him is so strong and
more powerful than words in an email. But know that He is our Father.
Please know he cares. And never forget what treasures he lays ahead
for us. He is just waiting to pour out blessings in our lives and he
will as we ask for them, submit our will to his will. As we sacrifice
and do things his ways. As we humble ourselves. He knows us more than
we can ever comprehend. He knows all things which is why faith is so
crucial and by having a firm testimony that God knows all things and
that he loves us, Our faith becomes stronger. We have no need to fear
of what’s unknown because we know it will always be glorious and
greater than what we had before.
I love my life. I love my self. Even more I love my mission, my
family, my friends, and most of all I love God and Jesus Christ. And I
know this church and gospel is theirs. Which means I know it's true.
I leave you my testimony and my last email of my mission in the name
of Jesus Christ amen.
