My own experiences are benefitting others!

We went to the temple this week. Amazing! We saw some other missionaries from around the mission, a great surprise mission reunion!

I’m doing well. My lower back hurts due to the car. :(   But otherwise I’m good.

YW camp! How fun! I’m excited for you. The girls here are at camp right now. They start on Friday and go until wed or thurs. Not sure. So they get a Sunday camping. Interesting.

Yesterday was good. We had another good lesson with Vicky. She had a hard week but is doing better now that we talked with her. As we taught her I realized something I learned from having Lyme. I can relate to her a little! My own experiences are benefitting others! It’s such a great feeling! I shared my experience about changing my prayers from praying to be healed to gaining strength. Tears fell down her cheeks. She realized that she needs to ask for strength to endure her trials.

We also explained to her that if we didn’t have opposition we wouldn’t be grateful for the happy times. If we never knew sorrow we couldn’t know joy. There must be opposition. That way we're also grateful. If we didn’t know any better then we wouldn’t be grateful for what we do have. Through trials and afflictions we understand how wonderful life is and the many blessings we do have.

Here are some recent photos. The first is the best district ever at the temple. We love being our own district!


The temple was amazing! Just being there is enough to make one happy. And then being with those you love is even better. I love the temple!

The second is me with Pres and Sister Bunker at the mission conference.

I’m so grateful for Andrea’s roommates! Thank you so much! She will be in my prayers. Please keep me updated. We’re emailing at the library today so I actually don’t have much time left. Today is half p-day because we went to the temple. So after lunch we're off to knock doors instead of playing. Although tracting is kind of fun and interesting. :) You meet all kinds of people.

This transfer is going by quickly. I can't believe we're already in week four. And that I have only two transfers left. But I won’t dwell on that so you don't get trunky. ;)

What did you do for the fourth? We were on exchanges. I was in Petaluma. It was just another day of work for us; except no one was home and if they were they were busy. We didn’t see any fireworks. We heard one or two. I had some glow sticks from something so we broke those and had a little fun with those. Basically just took a couple pictures and then went to bed.

We had a lesson with Vicky. Then right after that lesson we called a recent convert we had not seen at church. When he picked up we could tell something was wrong. As he explained the situation I felt the Spirit guiding us in our words. We helped him remember he had a testimony and that if he just trusted in the Lord and continued to keep the commandments he'd be blessed, that all would be well, that he would be strengthened by this trial. He explained that he was struggling with feelings of wanting to drink again. Before his baptism he explained to us that he had drunk in the past but had no desire to do so anymore. So now having this old temptation come up again kind of scared him. He cried as he told us he didn't want to fall into temptation. His tears broke our hearts. But we both know the Lord is watching over him. Later that night we sent him a link to a talk and then a scripture reference just before going to bed. We wanted to do everything we could to help him be strong and resist temptation. It was an experience that helped me trust even more in the Lord. Throughout it all we've had peace. I'm so grateful for the comfort of the Holy Ghost!

If trials don’t come before baptism they come after. But they all help us grow. So keep an eternal perspective and remember our goal; eternal life, an eternal family!

FOREVER LOVE,

Hermana Stephenson