July 29, 2013

Hey family!

This week I felt like I learned \ knew a lot about how to be happy. Ironically enough it came from not always being happy.
I love that scripture (I think its about Ammon) in Alma 27:18 where all the Sons of Mosiah and Alma run into each other again and Ammon (or Alma, I just cant remember at the moment) passes out (why are they always doing that in the Book of Mormon) from being filled with joy greater than his body could bear and then it says "18 Now was not this exceeding joy? Behold, this is joy which none receiveth save it be the truly penitent and humble seeker of happiness."
 I just love that Heavenly Father loves us enough to give us specific directions about how to be happy. He doesn't just say go be happy he tells us exactly how, He gives us commandments and shows us how through examples of people around us, through prophets, through people in the scriptures, and most of all through Christ's example. And for people like me who need things to be written out a little more specifically he has it written over and over and over in thousands of scriptures, not to mention living prophets and priesthood leaders and parents and inspired friends. God loves us so much, so much more that we can possibly imagine.
Everybody sent me such great emails today. I always learn so much on pdays its almost stressful because I know I'm not going to be able to remember it all because I can't remember everything from the pday before.
But I still love it and am so grateful for it because the spirit can bring things back to my remembrance in exactly the moment that I need them.
We had some really awesome things happen this week. And by things I really mean people because that is always the awesome part in the mission. Earlier this week we met this girl who wasn't super interested, but then we got her phone number and then called her up and she agreed to meet with us and then we had a really awesome lesson and then she stayed to go to the baptism of these two little boys in our ward and then she really really liked it and was really thinking about it and really taking things in and just really really thinking and then she went home and read the chapter in the book of mormon that we talked about and then prayed about it that night and she feels like its true and then she came to church the next morning! and its amazing how quickly things can change on the mission.
 We also had a lesson with a --
Also we teach her in english-portuguese because she speaks perfect english and she says she thinks in english and she wanted us to speak in english, but sometimes I just can't teach in english so I switch to portuguese and sometimes my comp teaches in english and I teach in portuguese and its cool. But mostly it was cool because this week in training the new missionary is supposed to lead and it was not necessarily the best moment for that because we were dealing with some other issues as a companionship (nothing even bad, just that made it complicated to try to switch up roles) and it was making things kind of tense. But because we were teaching in english (sort of) Sister C felt totally comfortable just going for it and taking on that role (she's really good at it, she is such an awesome missionary [I am like 90% certain that she is going to have one more transfer doing something else and then just be a Sister Training Leader for the rest of her mission so that everyone else in mission can just learn from her]). Heavenly Father knows our needs and since He knows we need to have the experiences in the training He provides for those needs, He even makes up for our weaknesses. Back to the Sister C is awesome tangent-- last night we did this cool activity with the other sisters and the elders from our ward and we went to this big open area by the camara(city hall) and sang hymns and had other missionaries contacting the whole time and we had a table and posters and it was awesome. but one of the most awesoem things was Sister C went off contacting with Sister S who is in her first transfer and terrified of Portuguese and it was just so cool to see her in her element leading everything so happily and excitedly almost running after people in the cutest most excited way that they didn't even mind and then just so happily helping Sister S along with everything and giving her advice  and stuff. I am realizing that probably none of this means very much to you guys but they are just moments that make me happy. so yeah. :)
This week I copied and pasted from this letter to president, but I additioned this so I will just put it here too :)
And we had two investigators in church who were good solid investigators to have in church, people searching for the truth and to change their lives who came to church for those reasons, so that was really really cool.
In our studies we reviewed How to Begin Teaching and studied teaching skills from chapter 10 (questions, listening, using scriptures, and teaching for understanding). We also reviewed the second lesson and teaching more simply (basically applying those principles we were studying) because it seems to be the one we have the hardest time helping investigators grasp as a whole (so we need to know it and teach it better).
Did you know how cool the gospel is! It makes so much sense! It all just fits together so simply and perfectly and I love Alma 12.
I pray for you every day.  (especially every week) and I KNOW that Heavenly Father is watching out for you so I will keep trusting Him and you can trust in my testimony of that truth like I am trusting in Mom's that:
Psalms 46 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." He really is my refuge and my strength.  I pray He will be yours.
I love you so much!
Have a wonderful week!
Fight the good fight!
The gospel's true!
Let God's will be done!(that's for you Hannahpants --don't ask me where that name came from-- I love love love love loved your email by the way. You are so profound lately and I love that the gospel is sinking into your heart.
Love
Steph \ Sister Lofgreen