CHOOSE Joy!

TERE! 

First sunshine of 2019! Blue sky and everything!

The work:

One of our female members was a missionary with us for 24 hours! She came with us to a lesson with a member Monday night, slept over (we got permission for all of this of course), came with us to district meeting Tuesday morning, a lesson with our investigator who is the cutest old lady ever (with the friendly cat and chocolate she can’t eat because she has no teeth.), and family night with the branch. We love her!!

Huge highlight this week was meeting with a less active family (mom, dad, and their 16-year-old daughter who is not baptized yet). Sister Nelson had the genius idea to read 3 Nephi 18:1-11 from the Book of Mormon and talk about the sacrament and invite them to church! After the mom and daughter read it out loud, the daughter was speechless, the mom started crying and saying she needed to read the Book of Mormon more, and the dad bore an amazing testimony that if we read the Book of Mormon and live by its precepts, life is better and easier. It was amazing! I then agreed with him and asked, "So when was the last time you read the Book of Mormon?" (Hahaha I’m such a blunt Estonian now...when I write it out that sounds super mean. I promise it wasn’t mean hahah.) Let's just say, they are all going to be reading the Book of Mormon more :) We are meeting next week to read the Book of Mormon together!

The other huge highlight happened last night with our 15-year-old investigator! We met in the church and had hot cocoa and cookies as we talked :) Õde Nelson's little sister and my little sister both wrote her letters and told her about how the knowledge of being a daughter of God has helped them in their lives. SHE LOVED THOSE LETTERS!! "Nii armas!" She said the letters came at a time when she really needed encouragement to know she CAN achieve her goals (she wants to be an entrepreneur)! She said she believes in angels. I shared an experience when an angel helped me (I believe in praying to God to ask angels to help us). We discussed prayer, and I read to her a section from my sister’s letter about praying to God for help. After I read that and testified about what my sister said being true, our investigator said that she is at the point in her life that she is ready to try praying. She is ready to ask God for help. She is going to pray every night this week, then we will meet on Saturday to make bracelets and talk about prayer! 

Exchange with my bestie Sister Durfee! It was the greatest day in my glorious town of Pärnu...so good to see so many people I love so much! We were fed 3 lunches (hahah), sang "I Am a Child of God" to my favorite grandma in the branch, and did so many other things :) Õde Durfee and I also realized that in the history of our friendship, we have spoken more Estonian to each other than English!

Funnies: 

So you know earlier when I mentioned the cutest old lady who feeds us chocolates she can’t eat? Well, we were at her house this week, and she gave us chocolate again. I saw a few extra nuts next to one of them. I picked them up to eat them, and then I realized they were the nuts left over from chocolate she had already sucked off of them! Hahah don’t worry, I didn’t eat them :)

We teach everyone here in the Baltic States.

Culture:

I can’t think of anything for this week, I’m sorry!

Spiritual thought:

I learned a LOT about choosing joy this week. Wow, last week I learned a lot about trusting in God. This week, my package of learning experiences from God was focused on my learning how to choose joy...I guess that means this week will be focused on finding peace! (My motto: "Trust in the Lord. Choose joy. Find peace.")

I know some people don’t agree with the fact that we must "choose" joy. While I believe everyone can "feel" joy without "choosing" it, I do know there are moments and periods of time when joy is a choice. I had many, many, many of those moments this week. 

Who can help us choose joy? Jesus Christ. God. We can pray to God and ask Him to place charity in our hearts..to place JOY in our hearts! We can pray to Him and open up our hearts and just tell Him everything we are feeling, everything we are striving to do, and everything we want to do for Him. 

He is listening. He loves you. 

I read this passage this week, and felt to share it with all of you. Pay attention to what brings the speaker JOY:

“I know that which the Lord hath commanded me, and I glory in it. I do not glory of myself, but I glory in that which the Lord hath commanded me; yea, and this is my glory, that perhaps I may be an instrument in the hands of God to bring some soul to repentance; and this is my joy.” (Alma 29:9) 

I consider this scripture one of my four life mottos (1st life motto: I am God’s beautiful daughter, He loves me and I love him. 2nd motto: Proverbs 3:5-6. 3rd motto: Trust in the Lord. Choose joy. Find peace. 4th motto: ALMA 29:9 - THE SCRIPTURE ABOVE).

I love this scripture so much because I connect with it so much. I know exactly what the Lord has commanded me to do at this point of my mission and life. I glory in that, am so grateful for His direction, and I strive to fulfill His personal commandments and direction to me every day. And I do all of that to help be an instrument in the hands of God to bring myself and other people to repentance...ultimately TO JOY!!

As hard as this week was, I’m grateful God is teaching me how to choose joy.

Choose joy in the path God has given you. I promise that BECAUSE He loves you, He will bless you and help you if you strive to choose joy in the path He has given you in this life :)

Trust in the Lord. Choose joy. Find peace. 

Õde Smith-Driggs

Romans 5:3-6 - And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.