{GRATITUDE}

This week I want to focus on Gratitude!

 I was reading a talk given by President Dieter F. Uchtdorf and it made me think about all the things I am grateful for. It made me reflect on my mission and all the experiences I have had. I have to admit that my mission has been filled with the hardest trials of my life, but I wouldn´t trade it for anything. Who would have ever thought that that the hardest 2 years (or 1 1/2 in my case) of a missionaries life could also be the best!!! I guess it all depends how you look at it.

 

President Uchtdorf talks about how important it is to always focus on the things that we know, or our testimonies. We should reflect the miracles that bless our lives, such as The Plan of Happiness, The Atonement of Christ and how through Him we can live with our loved ones once again, the resurrection of perfect bodies, and the hope of one day resting from trials, sadness, afflictions.¨True gratitude is an expression of hope and testimony. It comes from acknowledging that we do not always understand the trials of life, but trusting that one day we will.¨-Uchtdorf. Once we experience the true mission of Christ we will be changed and strengthened to support our trials through our testimony. Just how Uchtdorf says, ¨Gratitude to our Heavenly Father broadens our perception and clears our vision.¨ I know if we trust in our Heavenly Father, He will be able to help us through all our challenges that we might face in this life. He might not take our problems away, but He will help ease the burdens places on our shoulders and we will be strengthen to overcome them. So instead of waiting for the rainbow, thank God that there is rain.

 

I know that Jesus Christ loves each and every one of us, and that He can bring us peace and happiness in this life. I love this Gospel, and I love my Savior. I am so grateful for all of my trials, because I have learned and been strengthened from them. I am also so thankful for all the people that Heavenly Father has placed in my life. I hope you all have a great week! 

Love,

Hermana Sanders

 

{2-16-2015}

Feb 16 at 11:50 AM

I want to share with you all what I studied this week about the Sacrament. I feel as though many times we take for granted this wonderful opportunity to partake of the Sacrament, and as we learn more about the significance we will be able to have a spiritually moving experience every week. I read an Ensign article this week about the Sacrament, and the author related the story in the Bible when Jesus Christ suffered in the Garden of Gethsemane.

 

 As Jesus went to pray to the Father his disciples sat and waited for Him, and as the Savior returned He found his Disciples sleeping. He asked them if they could not just wait 1 hour, and left again to talk to the Father. He returned 2 more times to find his disciples sleeping yet again. The author then related this 1 hour that the Lord asked his disciples to wait with Him, is the same that the Lord asks us every week in our 1 hour Sacrament service. If we center our thoughts on the Lord, if we accompany Him during His moment of agony that He paid when He took upon Him our sins, it will have a new significance for all of us. I also reflected on the talk from Sister Marriott that I heard a few weeks ago. She also talked about Partaking humbly of the Sacrament every week, and how it gives us power and hope. She suggested that every week we bow our head in gratitude and reverence and ask our Heavenly Father for forgiveness and to reflect on the things we could have done better in the week. After we should ask our Heavenly Father if there is anything more we need to repent of. If we do this we should be able to receive the revelation that we need to be come stronger to face the next week. I also found this quote that I love from Elder James. J Hamula, ¨We further declare that we will ¨keep his commandments¨. That is a solemn commitment to repent. If our thoughts, words, or actions have been less than what they should have been in days past, we recommit ourselves to more closely align our lives with His in days to come.¨ I love this because I know that we all aren´t perfect, but it is a process and if we do mess up we have the next week to try harder. I also loved Elder Don R. Clarke´s suggestions to prepare us to partake of the sacrament each week. There is a list of 5. 

1. Express your gratitude for the Atonement of Jesus Christ

2. Remember that we are renewing our baptismal covenant. 

3. Ask Forgiveness

4. Search inspiration to solve our problems

5. Participate worthily of the sacrament so that we may be filled with the Holy Ghost. 

I know that if we can reflect on Christ´s Atonement during the sacrament (and throughout all of our meetings) we will be able to have a sacred and touching experience every single week. I know that Jesus Christ loves us, that He suffered for each and every pain, temptation, sadness and sin so that we might be able to live with Him again. I know that  He lives, and that He will once more reign upon the Earth as the rightful King. I love my Savior with all my heart, and I am forever grateful to Him. 

I hope you all have a great week. I love you all! 

Love,

Hermana Sanders

 

Happy Valentine's Day!!!

 

Well this week was good. We had lots of members help us this week go and visit other people. It really makes a difference when members are present in lessons, the people just open up! I wish we had a Paraguayan with us ALL the time!

 

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 Also today my companion and I decided to do a 40 day fast. We are going to do an actual fast tomorrow, and make a list of things that could be holding us back from having the Spirit to be with us. Then for 40 days we are not going to do anything that is on our list. We have a goal to be more consecrated missionaries, and to do so there are of course things that we can improve on! I think a big one for me will be making sure we talk to EVERYONE and open my mouth at all times!!! I am really excited to start our fast, and I know that we will be able to see many miracles.

This week we also had interviews with President. While we waited for interviews the Assistants to President talked about when we will end our mission we don´t want to look back and regret not doing something. It really hit me, and helped motivate me to continue to work super hard. It is a special time that I will be able to invite others to come unto Christ and be baptized. I feel so blessed to be a missionary. Also President really motivated me to go out and find these people who are waiting to enter into the waters of baptism. I know that they are out there, and we are going to find them with the helping hand of Heavenly Father.

I can´t think of anything else to write about. I just want to let you all know that I love you all with my whole entire heart! Thank you for all the support and love! I am so blessed with so many wonderful people that God has placed in my life! I hope you all have a great week!

Love,

Hermana Sanders

SUPER GREAT WEEKEND!!!!!

So I have so many things to tell you all, I hope I can remember it all! I think I am going to jump to Sunday because it was the most exciting day for me! Wait... Saturday! We had 2 baptisms and the elders had 1 as well. They were 2 little girls from families that we helped reactivate. It was all really beautiful, and the spirit was so strong. The only thing was the water was GREEN, and dirty! But it was too late to do anything about it, so we had to talk to the parents to see if they wanted to continue. Luckily the little girls didn´t have a problem with it, and it all went well. After we all took pictures, and the best part was that the families were so happy. 

 

Gloria <3

Then Sunday came around and it was probably THE BEST FAST SUNDAY EVER!!! Everyone who was baptized, was confirmed and received the Holy Ghost. Then they all bore their testimonies and it was the sweetest thing to hear these little girls testimonies. AND Gloria, one of the less active members that is reactivating, bore her testimony. It brought tears to my eyes as she told everyone that it was her first testimony after being baptized 5 years back. She also bore testimony of how families can be together forever and how happy she is to be working on being baptized for her grandma. It made me so grateful for inspired leaders such as my mission president, who has put such a big importance on family history work. I can see now the impact it has on the lives of others. Also just a side note Gloria wore the skirt I gave her this Sunday, and she looked great! Not only because she was dressed in a skirt, but her whole countenance was shining! 



Sister Marriot

Sister Burton

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

      Now to add to all this excitement, in the afternoon Sister Marriott and Sister Burton came to PARAGUAY!!!! So we went with a wonderful member and a less active member to the stake center where we heard them both LIVE!!!! and boy was it packed!! I had to stand the whole time because there was no more chairs left in the whole building! But these women are so wonderful and so filled with love! The messages impacted me so strongly, and I want to share just a little part with you all.  Sister Marriott shared with us how we can fill ourselves with the Spirit, to provide protection from the temptations of the world. She gave us 5 steps, but I am only going to share with you all 1. The first step is prayer. She shared with us the scripture in 3 Nephi 18: 18 Behold, verily, verily, I say unto you, ye must watch and pray always lest ye enter into temptation; for Satan desireth to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.  In this verse it teaches us that we must always pray. It is not enough to pray, but we must pray with an open heart always and be willing to follow what the Spirit tells us to do. She also counseled that when we don´t feel the Spirit in our hearts, we need to pray until we feel it. She then gave us an example of how we can pray. She told us to find a place where you can be alone, and kneel in prayer. Visualize your Heavenly Father standing in front of you, but a little above you in the air. Imagine His face smiling down upon you. Pray aloud to stay focused. Ask Heavenly Father for a private testimony meeting with Him. Then express to Him all the things you know and love about Him. Then continue to tell Him the things on your mind, your troubles and concerns. You will be able to feel His love and His presence. I can testify with Sister Marriott that God listens to our prayers and loves us. 

I know that this church is true, and that Jesus Christ lives. Heavenly Father loves us and listens to our prayers. One of the things that has strengthened my testimony is to see first hand how the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the same all over the world. We all might not speak the same language, but His teachings are the same. We are all children of God, and He desires that we can return to live with Him again. The Spirit speaks to all of us, and will guide us safely home. I am grateful to know this, and to be able to help others learn of this truth. 

I love you all! I hope you have a great week! 

LOVE,

Sister Sanders