Sept. 2, 2013

Hey family!
So this week was good and I made a list of things to tell you about, but now I don't know what I actually want to say.
The list makes it so that I am not thinking about the things that I learned and processing how I changed and grew this week, so hopefully I will get a chance to think about that this week too.
This week had lots of individual things happen where Ifeel like I learned and grew and did things right and did things wrong and they haven't all melded together in my mind yet to one or two or three over arching lessons that needed to learn.
But some things I was thinking about yesterday in fast and testimony meeting. The power of people's testimonies really is not at all dependent on their speaking abilities. They are carried to our hearts by the Spirit and their strength is much more dependent on the consistent role that those principles play in the people's lives. For example, the most powerful testimonies that I heard were one by this little old man who didn't really say that much, I don't think he actually even mentioned Christ in his talk, he just said how important it is to stay strong in the church and in the gospel. and I know that he feels that and lives that and relies more on the strength of Christ's atonement from that simple statement than so many eloquent people that I talk to that don't make the simple, good, daily decisions in their lives that he does.  read the scriptures every day. pray every day. talk to god like he's your father because he really is. love the people around you with all of your actions to the best of your ability because they are god's children too. work every day to build the kingdom of god on the earth. (that includes most especially everything we do for our families [aka studying and working to be able to take care of our families and future families]).
and I was thinking about how callings--working and serving in God's kingdom here on the earth--is one of the best ways that we have to learn and grow and CHOOSE to be humble instead of being forced to be humble like alma talks about in the beginning of alma 32.* That's really hard. and it comes in little choices. like this one from this amazing talk by Elder Bednar (that everyone in the world should read. I heard it in the MTC and I still think about it ALL THE TIME. it absolutely changed my life because it changed my daily choices and the way I see things and the things I am working to, ou seja, it made me want to work harder and more specifically to be like the savior.)


Elder Bednar's Talk: "On the day of her daughter's funeral, this Relief Society president from my home ward received a phone call from an irritated sister in our ward. The complaining sister had a cold and did not feel well, and she basically chewed out the Relief Society president for not being thoughtful or compassionate enough to arrange for meals to be delivered to her home. Just hours before the funeral of her only child, this remarkable Relief Society president prepared and delivered a meal to the murmuring sister."

These amazing people, quietly making decisions to put themselves last, even when they are perfectly justified in being offended or angry or in taking a moment to take care of themselves are those who change the world through their love and example.
 anyways.. on to some stories of things that happened this week.
 We had a baptism!
F. This super awesome lady who with every time she has specifically prayed about a question has found an answer. I think I talked about her a little while back. well, she finally picked a date to get baptized last week and then on tuesday we moved it up to this saturday and she got baptized and received the Holy Ghost on Sunday and it was amazing because it was one of those moments when you know that SHE really knew what she was doing and that it was important in her life. and she got up and bore her testimony in sacrament meeting after and it was awesome.

Another awesome little miracle from Saturday was that 7 of our investigators showed up at her baptism! which was sweet. and even better, the members really made an effort to make each and every one of them feel welcome.
I was called to Portugal, but sometimes I feel like I'm serving in Africa, because most of our investigators are from Capo Verde, Angola, and Mozambique. and at the moment a lot of them are 19-25 yr old boys who like to play futebol by the river every day and so we just get them to come have lessons with us when they stop playing. Because of this, Sunday night after church we were still fasting and we had about an hour to go look for new investigators and we had planned to go to this park by the chapel. And because we had been joking about our stereotype investigator, we just walked by this kid who fit it perfectly without really talking to him, we just said hi as we passed by, but then he stopped us and was like "hey, are you from the church?" and we just kept talking to him for a while. We started teaching him the first lesson and in the middle he just interrupts us and is like 'when you guys said hi to me I felt something really strong. This really strong feeling, like you are creatures of God (which really at the moment and in português was way less weird...) and I have that feeling right now, like nothing bad could happen. did you get that feeling?" and so we talked about the spirit and how to recognize it and how we feel when we feel the spirit, but it was just one of those moments, those tender mercies, that Heavenly Father gives you to let you know that what you're doing is important and that the Spirit really is guiding you and that there really are people prepared all over the world to hear our message. Sometimes we just have to start talking and we might not have the right words to us, but the spirit can take care of things if we just open our mouths.
Oh and my companion and I each got proposed to twice this week.. that's always fun... and by that I mean its not at all fun. One of them decided I was prejudiced against Muslims because I wouldn't marry him after having met him 5 minutes before hand.. and it doesn't help when your ward mission leader decides to tell one of them that you can date them when you're done with your mission in a year and a half... don't worry he didn't mean it and he owned a fight club, so I think he can help us out.
Also.. I'm having a hard time being exactly obedient because everyone keeps handing me black babies (my ward mission leader an his wife for example). pictures attached.
And I better go so that I can get some other things done today, but I love you all so so so so so so very much. and i want you to always remembre it and study the words of the prophets and apply something every day and forgive me if I didn't say anything that I needed to and trust the Spirit to help you know what you need to say when you need to say it.
Have a great week!!!!
And read that Elder Bednar talk. here's the link one more time:
Love you!
 Steph\ Sister Lofgreen
P.S. Fight the good fight. and remembre what's most important (always people).
And take my mom's advice this week and always try to be present the moment. that's my goal for the week.
p.p.s. I left our phone at Pablo's last night and we had to run through the city after hours to get it and then cal the zone leaders to tell them we were late and why after having had to cal them earlier that day to give lots of excuses for why we didn't get Fatima's baptismal ficha signed. we are awesome...

August 19, 2013

Sometimes my dad says really profound things that sound like their coming out of a book. like this: ".. but again, to everything it's season. . . . Can't I just have a little control of the seasons? . . . Nah, it'd always be fall with the colored leaves and with a touch of chill in the air. As much as I like that now, it might get a little boring after a couple of years. :)

Hey family. I love you guys so so so very much.
I don't think you guys understand it, but I really love you so much more every day that I am here. And not because I miss you (I do miss you, but that's ok), but because I feel that I am getting better and better at being a good person (I still have so so so so so so so far to go) but I think that the more I serve the Lord the more I learn about Him and more I learn to love Him and the more I learn the importance of the love He has for us and all of these things just make me love each and every one of you guys that much more, because I know that we are going to be family for ever and because I feel some of Heavenly Father's love for you. And families like ours are so so rare, especially when you are not living in the middle of the gospel culture, a culture where families love each other.
But anyway, this week was good. We are working with this lady F, who is really cool. She's really logical, but the amazing thing is that we just left her with invites to pray about really specific simple things (book of mormon, joseph smith, baptism,..) one after each lesson and each time, we would come back and she wouldn't say that she got an answer but the she would explain to us why it makes sense that the book of mormon is true and how much she loved reading it and the sign God gave her that its important,and then  explain why it makes sense that God would call prophets, and everytime like that. She would reason out the answer, but because she had asked and wanted to know her doubts were answered and her fears were calmed. She did her part and the Lord knew her and how to help her with her doubts in the way that worked for her. So often we don't see how the Lord works with us but those on the outside do.
Its amazing how consistent people are. When we go into a lesson 99% of the time I know if someone read and prayed or not just on their attitude about meeting with us. You can tell if they have been reading in the Book of Mormon (even if they didn't understand the whole chapter, you can tell whether or not they exercized their faith enough to just sit down and sincerely read) so quickly and easily.
I love Alma 26:22:
22 Yea, he that repenteth and exerciseth faith, and bringeth forth good works, and prayeth continually without ceasing—unto such it is given to know the mysteries of God; yea, unto such it shall be given to ereveal things which never have been revealed; yea, and it shall be given unto such to bring thousands of souls to repentance, even as it has been given unto us to bring these our brethren to repentance. l
I love it because it is to those who have faith, repent and live the basic principles of the gospel that God will give understanding of the mysteries we are all seeking to understand in this life. And you can really see how true that is in the lives of other people. Why then is it so hard for us to do the little things that will let us understand the hard questions: why bad things happen to good people, why life is hard, what god wants from us, what we are here to do, how to be happy. the things that matter.
But as for F., pray for her to resolve her doubts. She's so close and she will bring so much good into the lives of all her family if she can get through this period of doubt.
Well I better close so my comp can use the computer too today.. But I love you so so so so so much.
Please read your scriptures, pray,  love people, do good things and just be a good person. Its really the little things that make and break us.
And as for all the little things that we still have a hard time with: the Atonement is real and it works. (I heard a cool story about that too. an elder who really offended a girl who is a member here now. I happen to know this elder and know that he had really changed and that he would never want that. but she was sent the people in her life to help her overcome that trial that she had and now she has an amazing testimony and her sister too. The Savior took care of the things that he couldn't do because he really repented and changed and became better and trusted in the Lord.)
I love you guys so so so so much!!!!!!
Sorry I'm always such mess in my emails.

Steph

P.S.
Paul!!!! Awesome talk! you are amazing you and your testimony of the gospel already inspire me!!! (your future wife is one lucky young lady, haha, but seriously your testimony of the priesthood and womanhood is wonderful.)

Jeremy, Elder (Sam) Stratford says hi. He says he knows you and Jonny.
Also go watch 3 Ninjas for me. I used to always want to watch that show but couldn't remember what it was. What are you planning for this fall? Are you going back to Elmira? working?

Is school starting soon for everybody?

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

July 22,2013

Hey family!!! I'm sorry that I didn't really get a real email written this week! I just wrote more to more people individually, so I'm osrry about that, but I would like to copy and paste some random things from some random places that I liked and call it my own, pode ser? Fixe.
Things I learned from people this week:
Fight the good fight.
Missionary opportunities come up for everyone and the more ready we are the more we will be able to recognize them and meet them.
"I have been thinking lately about how many times God has lifted me to be able to do what is required.  I am so grateful for my years in school and then even this past year.  I do know that all things are possible with God. I am so grateful for this knowledge.  I am so grateful for your great example.  Keep the faith and try today to listen to the spirit as He tells you who to help." --not just what to do, but WHO to help. I liked that. and I'm glad that I know that my mom knows the gospel's true.  Even if I don't always have the testimony of that buried deep down in my soul the way I want it to be, I do know with out a shadow of a doubt that you know it. like that scripture about the stripling warriors. They knew their mothers knew it. If we can rely on the faith of our mothers, I think I will make it :)
Things I said that I want everyone to know:
Fight the good fight.
Me and my companion had some nice bonding experiences this week and I really felt the confirming presence of Heavenly Father telling me : See, I really did know what I was doing by sending you here and putting you guys together and giving you the talents and the weaknesses and personality that you have.
I like to know that God really does know me and He really does love me and value my gifts and abilities and talents enough to use them in his service.
Sorry this is really really short, but I love you all so much and there's always next week!

Steph\Sister Lofgreen


Mom!
You are the greatest most loving mother I could ever hope for in the world. . . and I'm turing into you a little bit in some ways that I don't like, like thinking that everything is my fault and taking responsiblity for way more than I could reasonably be accountable for, but I hope if that is becoming a part of me, maybe I am becoming a little bit more like you in one of a thousand other ways that I want to be. Like willingness to put faith into action. Remember when you decided you were going to go get a job and you had all these goals for youself and were taking those classes from the church place and going to talk to Bishop Ship and Jeff Edwards and applying for so many jobs in the world and just doing so many things and I was just like what? How do you just get a job? Well, that idea of just going and doing things that you have shown me so many times in my life, to just be a problem solver, I finally get where you learned that since being on the mission-- sometimes you just have to go do things. And I'm grateful to see how mission experiences have contributed to some of the amazing things that I have learned from you. Because now I know that it will really truly have an effect on my kids, cause your mission had an effect on me.

Last week, Sister B started reading me a literary offering she received from one of her old teachers. Guess who? Zack Hutchins! Funny right! And guess what the literary offering was: To My Dear and Loving Husband by Ann Bradstreet.
It made me really really happy because it made me think of you.

Mom, I am so so so grateful for the many things that you have taught me and that you taught me just now as I read that letter. I am grateful that because of you I know that with God all things are possible. Even if I don't always have the testimony of that buried deep down in my soul the way I want it to be, I do know with out a shadow of a doubt that you know it. Like that scripture about the stripling warriors. They knew their mothers knew it. If we can rely on the faith of our mothers, I think I will make it :)
Don't ever for a moment forget how much I love you and how proud I am to have you as my mother. :)
I will keep praying for you to know what to do about the house and the move and the family and all of these things. I will pray that you and dad will be able to feel united in the decisions that you are making, because no matter what happens if that's true, it will work out. and even more, if you can feel at peace with Heavenly Father with the choices you are making it will work out. so I will pray for you both to know what to do for yourselves and the family.
I love you so much.
Love Steph

July 15, 2013

Everybody should check out the church's new website if they haven't on hastening the work of salvation: Click Here for the Link

And while those are loading I will type some more.
This was a nice long week of finding people. Every so often it feels like you are right back at quare one and you just have to go out and find people again. And that's what the end of this week has felt like. Luckily things seem to change so quickly sometimes as a missionary too. so Im sure it won't last long. And for this reason i am so so grateful for this quote that mom sent to me (and by quote I mean just something that she said): One of the concepts I loved most about this idea is that conversion is the actions we do because of the love and gratitude we have for the knowledge of our testimony.
I feel like every email time I come sit down and talk about nothing and share maybe somehting that I have learned that week, but what I have learned is more or less the same thing always and it always comes down to something like that. Love the Lord, trust Him and keep up the good work, keep the fight, stay true and hold to the rod. The Lord won't let you down if you trust Him and choose to trust Him with your actions even if your not feeling it in one moment or another. Every moment of difficulty will be made up x100.
God loves us. and He knows YOUR name. not just Joseph Smith's name or alma's name or the prophet's name or moses' name, your name. How amazing is that? This idea just blew the mind of one of our investigators in Loulé. He just could not believe that, and when we finally convinced Him that it was possible and that He should just pray about it to find out, that was what made the difference for Him. To know that God knew him and loved him and believed in him enough to give him everything and know and call him by name. He's going to love the temple when he gets there and feels Heavenly Father's love for each of us personally even more profoundly.
I'm grateful for the little reminders of miracles that I get every week as I write you guys, sorry its not the same experience for you.
I love you all so much and don't ever forget it, and good luck with the move I'm praying for all of you individually.
Paul. Its going to be great. God is going to do great things with you. You are so so so amazing. I don't just say that I feel it.
And Tom. You're awesome.'nuf said.
Hannah, just sing and paint and write your heart out.
And Will, work hard in school and hug mom for me and tell people when you need help with things.
And Dad, how's your new job?
And Jeremy, what's going on with you? how's utah\arizona? what have you been up to and did you decide on that internship things\ have you been doing that in arizona or have you stayed in utah this whole time?
And you can make all these decisions mom. in decision making i have been reading in Mosiah and I learned a lot in chapter 26 (when alma's got some big decisions and receives one of my favorite revelations in the BoM--everything always  comes down to the plan of salvation) and in chapter 22:1 and then the rest of the chapter (those one's made me think of something one of the apostles said in the broadcast we watched last week about how bishops in ward councils should do like the apostles did witht he change in missionary age and counsel with all of the leaders from all of the departments (apostles, sunday school, relief society, primary, young womens, etc.) they talked to everyone and weighed all the options.
Just some thoughts.
As always. Sorry.
But I really love you all sooo much!!!!
Steph\Sister Lofgreen

Hey Family~
How are you all? I love you and I miss you and I pray for you all every night.
The first important piece of news. It is HOT.
Everyone keeps telling us that it is over 40 graus. and 40ºC  is like 104ºF. So... yeah. I don't know if its true because it doesn't seem like that could be right, but its pretty hot... I love fans much more than is reasonable right now.
Secondly, God loves us so so so very much that He gives us answer to our questions and He hears and answers ALL of our prayers.
Thirdly, He knows us so well and hard times now don't cancel out all of the blessings He has promised us if we just hold on faithful to the end and live every day to its fullest (to show our love for Him and feel His love for us as completely as possible).

Also, Pictures! before I forget.

July 1, 2013

Hey family!
Yesterday we got to watch a training meeting for new mission presidents and pretty much all leadership of the church (like anyone who is in a ward council) and it was wonderful.
We have living prophets and apostles and they really do receive revelation for us in our day. They know the Savior and they love Him so so much and because of that they are given capacity to realy love us. and President Flukiger asked us to write him one thing we learned, so that's below.
One thing I learned from the training meeting yesterday:
ALL of the apostles and the prophet spoke of love, this work of love and salvation that is accoplished as we expand our vision to be more like our Father in Heaven's. He sees each of His children as precious and important--RC, MA, non-members, etc. And because they see that they are more capable and eager to move this work forward. We can always be expanding and building our testimony of the value of a soul to the Savior and of His power and desire to help others and us.
One more thing: they live the things they teach and live to qualify for the Spirit to make up the difference in everything, and they expect us to live the things we teach and learn and live worthy of the Spirit to direct us as well.
Its always such basic clear things but they clearly need to sink deeper into my soul or the Lord wouldn't keep telling them to me.

Training:
This week has been the Book of Mormon and the Book of Mormon has been playing a huge role with our investigators. I have developed a greater love for this book as we have studied its power in ch. 5. It is so clear, so powerful and makes all the difference.
We applied it with our RC who we felt (and it was true) has been slowing in her anxiousness to read the BoM, but after talking with her about it she regained some of the fire and recognized the difference it was making in her life.
It has also made a difference in our 1st lessons as we focus on the power of using scriptures from the BoM to teach.
Sister C uses Mos. 4:9 in teaching the 1st point of the 1st lesson a lot and with a really amazing new investigator that we found Saturday who accepted all of the convites up though convite suave, she felt the power of the clarity of the book of Mormon from the very beginning of that lesson.
I need to focus this week on not losing fogo in CS, and continuing to make every morning a spiritual experience. I just realized we forgot to do VSP last night and I think that will make a big difference in being able to focus on the things that are most important for us this week and in having goals and focus for our study time that feel important to both of us.

Work: we are still struggling with progressing investigators, finding people who will really contribute to the growth of the ward and who are ready to come unto Christ right now (I have a tendency to just want to wait with everyone and help them be ready, but I know that's not always our job). But in the last two weeks we have found some people with a lot of potential and I can feel my faith to find growing.
P.S. I'm grateful for other missionaries. I am learning so much from the example of Sister Br. . . and Sister St. . .  who are doing a tremendous work, who have so much faith and so many smiles. They inspire us every day. We can learn so much from each other and lift those around us.
Sorry that I just copied and pasted suchan uninteresting email, but I'm a bit short on time. We're going to go have a district p-day with some members and so we don't ahve as much email time today.
But I love you all a lot.
And I want to tell you a little about the girls who live in our house with us. They are so amazing. I always feel like I sound so cheesy but they are genuinely amazing. 1. My companion is so incredibly awesome and is still stopping everybody on the street when she is sick.
Sister Br. . . had a really hard transfer last transfer, but now she is training Sister St. . . and they are so happy and sweet and loving and excited ALL THE TIME and even though they are both super new, they just love the Lord and trust him and so they are finding amazing people and people really feel their love and just want to be like that and so they come to church and come to know the savior. Its amazing. I am so lucky that I have been able to meet and serve with some of the most loving faithfilled people in the world.
But anyways. We just have so much fun all together. . . We are teaching this really funny old couple who really worked one over on our gospel principles teacher on Sunday... we'll see how it goes next week. We might try to teach them the lesson for Sunday beforehand to see if that might help.
And then Ad. . . is quitting smoking.
And we found the most amazing girl on Saturday who in her prayer at the end thanked heavenly Father for the signs he sends and for sending us and she was totally just sitting there waiting for us to come find her and tell her about the truth. Its amazing. what if we hadn't knocked on her door. God is so good.

Sorry this is so short and random, but I love you all!

Steph

June 24, 2013 Letter About Love

Hey mom and dad and Jeremy, Hannah, Paul, Tom, Will and everyone else who is family. 

Katy sent the most amazing email this week, and several other people too; it just made me so happy to see how people I love are growing and changing and just becoming more truly the best version of themselves.

In church on Sunday, we talked about Pres. Monson's talk from October's Gen. Conf. about seeing people as they may become, and I love that talk so much, but when we were talking it kind of sounded like people were saying we should just see people as we want them to be and expect it and then they will change into what we want them to be. And that's not it at all. We don't want to just change people into what we want them to be. We want to change people into being more truly themselves, we want to develop the gift of discernment to help others discover within themselves the amazing traits and potential that they have and help them have a desire to be greater and bigger and better and more the versions of themselves that really truly loves God and others. We want them to see who they really are--sons and daughters of God--and grow and develop those qualities that are most important. 
but anyway, I'm getting sidetracked. The point I was going to make was that in response to her awesome letter I wrote the following and I decided that i wanted to share those thoughts with all of you so I am just going to send it to all of you too:

"My dear dear Katy,
Did you know that you are amazing!?
I hope so, because you are. And I am so glad that you are feeling so much love for the people, for your family, and most of all for the Lord. I love seeing how all the people I love are learning and growing and changing and coming closer to the Lord, and learning to trust in Him and feel of his love and influence more and more every day. And I am more glad than anything that you know that the Lord loves you with out a doubt and that that love really can make all the difference. 
These were my scriptures of the day: D&C 6--He knows us.
We just need to know who we are like He knows us and then know who He is and trust in Him. 
And then if we still doubt:
He is always there for us, and He is always so patient. 
I love the scriptures so much better than my own words sometimes. so sorry that most of this email is just scriptures, but I guess I'm not sorry because the scriptures are better anyways. 
Have a wonderful P-day! (and I might come back and write more later, we'll see.)
Love you so much!
Steph\Sister Lofgreen"

14 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, blessed art thou for what thou hast done; for thou hast inquired of me, and behold, as often as thou hast inquired thou hast received instruction of my Spirit. If it had not been so, thou wouldst not have come to the place where thou art at this time.
 15 Behold, thou knowest that thou hast inquired of me and I did enlighten thy mind; and now I tell thee these things that thou mayest know that thou hast been enlightened by the Spirit of truth;
 16 Yea, I tell thee, that thou mayest know that there is none else save God that knowest thy thoughts and the intents of thy heart.
20 Behold, thou art [Kathryn], and I have spoken unto thee because of thy desires; therefore treasure up these words in thy heart. Be faithful and diligent in keeping the commandments of God, and I will encircle thee in the arms of my clove.
 21 Behold, I am Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I am the same that came unto mine own, and mine own received me not. I am the light which shineth in darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not.
22 Verily, verily, I say unto you, if you desire a further witness, cast your mind upon the night that you cried unto me in your heart, that you might know concerning the truth of these things.
 23 Did I not speak peace to your mind concerning the matter? What greater witness can you have than from God?