Familia y amigos!
Hola! Feliz Año Nuevo! It's so exciting, isn't it?! A whole new year, with new opportunities and a chance to start again.
This past week has been very interesting. I'm having so much fun as always and love my district and zone more and more as I get to know them. We are all parting ways just this next week and I can' believe it! In 4 days! Us missionaries going to Idaho will be leaving the morning after the rest of our district is heading to Mexico. So that'll be interesting. It'll be hard to leave these people that I've grown so close to, especially my amazing companion who has taught me so much and become a really close friend. But it has to happen. That's how it is with missions.
This week was more of a solemn week and a great learning experience. I don't know if I mentioned this before, but Elder Toala's mom has had cancer for a while before he came on his mission. This past week, she passed away. That day was a solemn day as we reminded ourselves how much we have been blessed and learned more about the Savior (and in a whole new light). When he came and told us Hermanas, he said he would need some time and to be by himself. Of course, of course. He amazed us all by being back the very next day and back to teaching and learning. He is SO strong. He has amazing faith and trust in the Lord to know why he's here and that his family will be together forever. He is an amazing example to me and I loved the testimony that he shared by his actions and not just his words. If you all could pray for him and his family, that would mean a lot to me.
Another thing I loved this week was when we talked about the new year. It's really interesting because we're all thinking about change and leaving for our missions this next week as well as the change of the new year. I love thinking about change and how it connects to repentance. Repentance IS change. The gospel of Jesus Christ is also change. It's becoming a better person, little by little. And because of that, as we teach the gospel, we are teaching repentance. We don't have to be calling people to repentance and pointing out their flaws, but by sharing true doctrine, we are teaching repentance and giving them the opportunity to be clean again. I've never thought of it that way. It was a really cool thing I learned this week.
I loved that the devotional was also on change this week. We heard from Stanley G. Ellis of the Quorum of the Seventy. He spoke about voluntary repentance. About CHOOSING to make a change in your life. I looked at it like this: we know who and where we want to be in the future, so what do we need to do now and what do we need to change to become that person? To me, it's all about hope. When we see ourselves as who we can be and shoot towards that goal, we can accomplish so much. It will be hard work, and we have to exercise the faith to TRY, but we can do it with the help of Jesus Christ. With the support and love and strength that comes through Jesus Christ's atonement. We have an amazing potential, we just need to open our eyes to see it. We can all do that, especially with this new year and as we resolve ourselves to try once again to be better. Even if we set goals and don't keep them very long, the fact that we tried and were better for a week or even a day is better than not trying at all.
I know this was a deep email this week, but, honestly, repentance is a message of joy. The idea that we can all be clean and erase the guilt we feel--because none of us is perfect, not even close--is so amazing. If you haven't experienced that for yourself, I invite you to and promise that you can feel that relief and joy through the atonement. Through going to Christ in prayer. It really works and I've seen it in my life. I know Christ died for us and lives that we might live. If no one else in this world, Christ and our Heavenly Father love you so much, more than we can even imagine. And THAT is why I am here right now. I love this gospel so much and KNOW it is true.
Con amor,
Hermana Shirley
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