Hello from South Florida!!! It was hot a few days ago, and has since cooled off, and it is so nice right now! I hope every has had an amazing week, and if not, choose today to make this one 10X better! "Choose righteousness and happiness, no matter what your circumstances!!!" That sits on my desk everyday!
So to address the title, last P-day we had a water balloon fight zone activity which was so fun! It was a little rainy too, which was hilarious! We played ultimate Frisbee with water balloons quititch style, if any of you know what that means, haha. Basically we had "bludgers" on each team that would throw water balloons at the person holding the frisbe, and if they hit them, the other team would get the Frisbee. Needless to say, it was super fun!
Then later that week while knocking, the sky opened up and it DUMPED on us! Haha, we tried knocking a few more doors, and then booked it to the car(we were unprepared, its dry season!) a few streets away and got soaked haha. We took a few pictures :)
Now this next part gets a little more serous, I just feel like I need to share this with all of you (whoever reads this anyways, haha).
I am reading in the beginning of Ether right now, and I love it! I just started chapter 3 today, but the last 3 verses of chapter 2 got me thinking. They say,
"23 And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels? For behold, ye cannot have windows, for they will be dashed in pieces; neither shall ye take fire with you, for ye shall not go by the light of fire.
24 For behold, ye shall be as a whale in the midst of the sea; for the mountain waves shall dash upon you. Nevertheless, I will bring you up again out of the depths of the sea; for the winds have gone forth out of my mouth, and also the rains and the floods have I sent forth.
25 And behold, I prepare you against these things; for ye cannot cross this great deep save I prepare you against the waves of the sea, and the winds which have gone forth, and the floods which shall come. Therefore what will ye that I should prepare for you that ye may have light when ye are swallowed up in the depths of the sea?"
It was impressed upon my mind as I read these last few verses, especially verse 25, that the challenges and trials we face are from God, and that He has prepared them for us for our good. They are the means to the end of us one day becoming like our Heavenly Father. Another scripture that has been on my mind the past few days is found in 1 Peter 1:7,
" That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ[.]"
Really that whole chapter is amazing, but it is where Peter speaks of how the trial of our faith is worth more than gold, though it be tried with fire, that really stands out to me. All of these amazing scriptures have helped me to take a step back and ask myself, what is God trying to teach me here? What am I to learn? We face so many trials in this life as part of our time here upon the Earth, and sometimes we might question why we need to face such difficulties. I know that God's plan for us is perfect, and that when we trust in Him and His Power to lift us, comfort us, strengthen us, and change us, we remember His promises to us, as the righteous, as promised in Mosiah 2:41. LOOK IT UP. I know that scripture is true, and that those promises are REAL.
Here is an experience I had this past week with facing and overcoming trials. When we were knocking in a gated community up in Weston, I was afraid of being yelled at and having the security guards called on us before we could knock more than 3 doors, so I was praying so hard that the people we knocked into would at least be kind to us. I was essentially telling God that here is my tiny little mustard seed of faith, and that though that is all I could muster in the moment, You have said that that is enough to work miracles in Your name, and that is all I want to do here. I just want to help these people. And you know what happened? Every Single Door we knocked that someone answered, the people were SO NICE to us, I wanted to cry, and later I did in a comp study our district leader gave us on Saturday. It reminds me of the story of the Brother of Jared and the 16 stones. The finger of the Lord touched those stones one by one, and each time the Brother of Jared saw a stone light up, his faith was strengthened. So much so that the veil was taken from off his eyes and he saw the Lord, and His faith became knowledge! In a much smaller sense for me, with my experience, at each door, when we were kindly turned away, I could trust more and more in God's power and how faith in Him brings down that power into our lives. This area truly has been a refiner's fire for me, and I am grateful for what I have learned, felt, and for the conversations I have had with God. I have had to completely rely of Him, because I am weak, and I feel fear, but I know He can take it away and make more of me than I could ever have been. That is the hope I hold onto. I hope my experience can help strengthen each on of you, because God can manifest His Power in your life, too. It is not just available to His missionaries, it is available to EACH ONE OF US AS CHILDREN OF GOD. "Doubt not, but be believing" is what Moroni exhorts us to do. We are here to be tested. Once we understand that, our course is set in an undeviating path toward the Love of God. Hold to the word of God, cherish it, and never let it go, and we will all make it back to our Heavenly Home.
I love you all so much, I wish I had the words to describe how much. You mean everything to me. Keep holding on, we are all in this battle together, but the secret is, God Always Wins.
Love Always,
Hermana Stokes
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