TERE, FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!! Hope everyone is doing well :) BYU friends, I know finals are coming up...please know I pray for you all! Good luck! As we say in Estonian - Usume endasse!! (Believe in yourself!!)
Two months!
The Work:
- THE MIRACLE: Oh my goodness, friends. I will never forget what happened this week. So Õde Austin is a wizard on the piano, and I love to sing, so we decided to audition to perform in front of the entire MTC at the Sunday night devotional for this week! Well, the day before the audition, I started feeling a little sick, but I prayed that my voice would hang in there until the audition. My prayer worked! Our audition went well, and they asked us to perform on Sunday! We were so excited! Well, my sickness started getting A LOT worse. The day after the audition, I couldn't even go to class because I was so sick. I got a priesthood blessing on Saturday, felt a little better, but still didn't have a voice. I woke up on Sunday feeling AWFUL. But I knew throughout the entire weekend that God needed me to share my testimony with my vocal chords on that Sunday night, so I trusted Him the whole time. I knew He would grant me my voice for that performance. It sounds crazy, but I trusted in that miracle because it has happened in my past performance experience.I never doubted God's power. During choir practice, just two hours before the performance, I had no voice and my whole body was just so sick haha. But I continued trusting! I continued praying! And I knew my friends here were praying for me as well! Sure enough, when we went to the sound check, my voice "turned on" for the run through, then turned right back off. I knew that was God showing me that yes, He would help me out for the real performance that night!! We went to the devotional. Before every devotional, the entire MTC sings prelude hymns together. I love it! I tried singing along. My voice hurt so bad and nothing good was coming out (keep in mind - this is MINUTES before I was supposed to sing an entire song beautifully!). BUT FRIENDS. CAN YOU GUESS WHAT HAPPENED? We got up to perform, and God took away my sickness and gave me my voice for those 4 minutes. After Õde Austin and I shared our testimonies with the audience through song, both of us reflected that it was the least nervous we have ever been for a performance. We simply testified of Jesus Christ together. It was a 4 minute miracle. As soon as we sat down, my sickness came right back, and I could no longer sing. But tears were in both of our eyes as we expressed gratitude to Heavenly Father in our hearts. Friends, I know that faith in God and in His power results in miracles.
- I have an invitation for you all! As you all know, this weekend is Easter (It's also GENERAL CONFERENCE!! Write down questions you have and have faith that they will be answered!!). In preparation for both of these events, I invite you to watch this video: - http://www.lds.org.uk/jesus-christ-is-always-there-easter-2018?lang=eng-gb. We shared this video with an Estonian member and testified about it. By the end of that lesson, we were all in tears. It was very special. I invite you all to write down one time Jesus Christ was there for you. Then share it with someone! With everyone!
- Fun fact: "Õde" in Estonian doesn't only mean "Sister." It also means "nurse." So Õde Austin and I like to think of ourselves as nursing the people of Estonia back to spiritual health :)
The Funnies:
Ok, I'm sorry friends - at this point in the MTC, things we think are funny are simply just not funny to the outside world hahahaha. But I promise we are laughing and having SO MUCH FUN!!!
I should have some funny stories for you in my next email from our travels and from my first little bit of time in the mission field! Buckle up for that email!!!
Spiritual thought:
I was thinking a lot about how we can grow our relationship with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ this week. Think about this, friends - how did you grow your relationship with one of your best friends? Picture one of your best friends before you read on...think about when you first met that person and specific ways you grew your relationship into what it is now (and how it continues to grow).
For me, I grew my relationship with my best friend by spending time with her, getting to know her, sacrificing for her, sharing my love for her in various ways, reaching out to her every single day, simply talking with her, being vulnerable with her and letting her help me, trusting her and having faith that she will keep her promises, and believing that she will be there for me always. Hopefully some of those ways I grew my relationship with my best friend are similar to the ways you grew your relationship with your best friend.
So. How do we grow our relationships with Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ? How do They become our best friends? BY DOING THOSE SAME THINGS.
Get to know them by studying the scriptures. Show your love for them by loving the people around you, by following His commandments, earnestly praying every day, going to church with questions in your heart knowing they will be answered. Sacrifice for them by asking on your knees every morning, "What is one thing you need me to do today, God?" then go about the day on His errand. Reach out to Heavenly Father and simply talk to Him on your knees and in your heart. Be vulnerable with Him, because He is listening. Trust Him and have faith that He will keep His promises to you if you keep your promises to Him. Lastly, believe that both Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are there for you always.
This seems like a big list, I know!! But I promise if you start with ONE of these ways, (just one!), you will see a spark in your relationship with Them. I promise that because I have seen it in my own life. I have seen my relationship grow by doing these things every day, especially on my mission.
Lastly, I would like to share with you all my favorite scripture in Estonian. Please look it up in English! This is my testimony in one verse of scripture!
2 Nephi 22:2 - "Vaata, Jumal on mu päästeö ma usaldan teda ega karda, sest Issand Jehoova on mu jõud ja mu kiidulaulö ja samuti on ta saanud minu päästeks."
Trust in the Lord. Choose JOY! Find peace :)
Õde Smith-Driggs
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