HELLO FRIENDS!
First of all, I just have to give a special shoutout to my SISTER! She got into BYU! Thank you for all your prayers! So proud of you, schnookie!
The Work:
- Small miracle this week - Õde Austin's Vitamin Water spilled in her bag, but her camera and scriptures had been out of the bag, and her other most important things were not damaged at all. Tender mercies are a real thing!
- We had our first lesson with a new investigator, Milvi. She is 60 years old and very "spiritual." She was very crazy the whole lesson and I had no idea what she was saying. She was just making huge motions with her arms to show us how much she loves yoga. She even talked about her prayer mantra! It was one of those lessons that everyone talks about where you literally understand nothing and just smile and nod the whole time, inserting a testimony of Jesus Christ here and there. Our next lesson with her was the hardest lesson I have had here at the MTC. We kept trying to testify, and she would not accept any of what we were saying, and we couldn't understand what she was asking. It was really hard. We just wanted to help her, but she doesn't want to be helped. I was feeling frustrated afterward because I didn't know what to do. But our teacher, Õde Soosalu, helped us concentrate our efforts on how we can do better next time. By the end of the night, I was feeling a little better. Please pray that our next lesson with her (Friday) goes a little better. Please pray that the Spirit can continue guiding us in our lessons with Milvi.
- President M. Russell Ballard, the president of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, came and spoke to us last night. It was a question and answer session! President Ballard is such a sweet man, and we could all feel his love and God's love last night.
- Also I just have to publicly express my love for Õde Austin. We sing and harmonize together on an hourly basis and testify of Jesus Christ together, going about doing good...could life get better?? I don't think so :) Ma armastan sind, Õde Austin...niiiiiii palju!! Sa oled väga kena ;)
- The Estonian is coming along!! I love this language so much. It is sooooo beautiful. Yes, it is hard. But all languages are hard! English is hard! And I just depend on the Lord's help every day. I know that whatever I don’t communicate in words, the Spirit makes up the difference and helps the people I am talking to understand God's love and message for them. I depend on that in writing these emails as well. I don't know what each of you are struggling with. Only God knows. But I trust Him to take my simple words and transform them into what each of you personally need to hear.
The Funnies:
- A speaker came and showed us picture after picture of super hard situations in the mission field, and said things like, "So yeah, he may not be able to stand up because everything is too short for him in Japan, but hey at least he is serving in this picture by doing the dishes!" or "Oh yes...these dear missionaries ended up in the hospital, but hey at least they survived!" hahahaha.
- "Kuulama" in eesti keel is "to listen." So to remember that word, Õde Austin and I think, "Cool llamas have big ears. Cool llama...kuulama!" Haha so this is the sign we make to remember it:
Spiritual thought:
I would just like to bear my simple testimony of the power of the Atonement. Life is hard, my friends. I know that. You all know that. And we can't feel happy all the time - we can't! We have to experience sorrow so we can appreciate happiness. But I know that whatever emotion you are feeling in your life right now (happiness, sadness, joy, depression, anxiety, hopelessness, loneliness, comfort, excitement, etc), you can ALWAYS feel peace through the Atonement of Jesus Christ. it doesn't matter the emotion, peace is always available. That is my favorite thing about this gospel. In my saddest moments, I have turned to my Heavenly Father in prayer and asked for peace. He has freely given me that peace. And in my most joyful moments, I have opened the scriptures and felt complete peace and solace. We always need Christ, no matter how happy or sad we feel.
Christ understands you 100% of the time. He understands 100% of all emotions you could ever feel because He felt them first.
So when you feel sad or hopeless or alone, please feel peace in knowing that at least one person understands you - Jesus Christ, the Savior of the Universe. What better best friend could we have?
Ma tean Jeesus Kristus armastab sind nii palju. Tema tahab suhe sinuga. Ainult Jeesuse Kristuse lepituse kaudu, sina võid tundad rahu ja rõõm alati. AINULT Jeesuse Kristuse lepituse kaudu. Armastad tema. Järgi tema!
I love you all :)
Trust in the Lord. Choose joy. Find peace.
Õde Smith-Driggs
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