2/24- the 1%

This week has been pretty great. We had exchanges, where a Sister Training Leader comes to our area and one of us goes to their area for 24 hours. I stayed here and Sister Doman came here, and we had a very fulfilling 24 hours. On Wednesday, her and I went to Wincrest, a retirement home that has a memory loss facility. There we chatted with many people who are beginning to lose their memories, and they were so sweet. After, we went to Solange, the assisted living place that we have been playing Bingo at. It was so fun. Then we went tracting for a little bit, no success, then ate dinner at Noodles & Company. One of the workers there is actually from the Roxborough ward, so while leaving we left them a little note of encouragement. It was snowing outside, so we began scraping a few cars. While we were scraping one beside ours, a man nearby saw what we were doing, got out of his car, grabbed a scraper, and said "I can help too." We worked together to scrape a stranger's car, then waved goodbye. It was so fun and heart warming. 

On Friday, we were able to go to Prepare My Heart, a beautiful performance about the women of the Old Testament. It was written and directed by a lady in my zone, and it was phenomenal. The songs were gorgeous, and every women who sung had such beautiful voices.

While meeting with a Young Women who is preparing ot go on her own mission, my companion mentioned that weekly emails are not always accurate, and that missions are hard and such %99 of the time. I wanted to argue to the fact and say it was much lower then that, but even if at times it feels as if most of it sucks, we need to remember the %1. No matter how hard it gets or how much of a failure you may feel you are, that %1 makes it all worth it. They are the moments where you are able to see tears of love and gratitude in another's eyes, or when you are able to witness the miracle of prayer or forgiveness, or when your own prayers are answered, or when you can feel God's arms are rapped around you, or when God's love and awareness becomes a tangible, undeniable fact in your life or the life of those you are serving. In those moments, no matter what else, those are the moments that count. I would say that a mission "sucks" maybe %80 of the time, sometimes %50, but no matter the percentage, it is so much sweeter to count the blessings. Often times people will say that there are countless problems in their lives, so instead of counting the negative I think we should work harder to count the blessings. As I do this, it is almost impossible to feel down or depressed or upset. I can tell you for a fact, that the blessings will always outnumber the negative. God has given me two eyes to see the blessings and beauty around me, two hands to serve, two feet for me to travel by, a mind to allow me to study and ponder, and a heart that I am able to love so many with. These are only a few of the blessings I will write right now, but there are SOOO many more. I KNOW that God loves each one of us, and He is aware of what we are going through. 

It's funny the way attitude can affect our life. Honestly, most of the time I sit excitedly, waiting to go on my mission, then I feel shocked that I'm already on my mission. This has been something I have been dreaming of for so long and that I never knew if I would get the opportunity to do. No matter how much I miss home, no matter how many doors are slammed in my face, no matter how sick I get over and over again, I remember that I am on the Lord's errand right now, and as long as I am working, I am making God proud. I am forever grateful for this marvelous chance and for my decision to serve a mission.