Hello m y dear family!
Well, another week has come and gone. I'm still trying not
to acknowledge it ;) This week was an adventure. We spent a lot of time trying
to contact less-active members and we were higgly-piggly all over creation
looking for their addresses ;) (That's a reference to a Disney movie) I am
proud to say that I've come to know Lubbock pretty well--even when we got lost,
we weren't really lost... Everyone is starting to come back to town for school.
It hasn't started yet, but we're getting pretty close! We've seen so many
miracles this week. It's amazing. There is a less-active member that we're
working with right now that hasn't been to church in months, BUT yesterday she
came! She has really turned a corner, and told us that her goal is the temple
:D Yay! We've been working with an investigator named Jessica for a while now,
but the funny thing is that we've only had two lessons with her in person. She
left for Houston for the break, and we've been able to have lessons with her
over the phone. She is so awesome! When we first contacted her, (she was a referral
from some other sisters) she asked if we had any bible study classes. We told
her that we did (Institute) but that it had just ended and would start up again
with the new semester. She said she'd really like to come. So, then, we said
"Well, we have church on Sunday, would you like to come to that??" We
were so excited! She came, and she loved it, and then we met with her twice
before she left for home. She's been reading the Book of Mormon ever since we
gave her a copy, and she's now in Mosiah. She's defended the Church to her
friends, and she said that she's starting to think that this is the one true
church! :D We love her! She is amazing. Oh yes, and in Houston, she's been
attending the YSA ward there and Institute as well. She's so great.
Lately I've gained a stronger testimony of "being
still". This week I've had more anxiety filled days than not, but the
amazing thing to me is that when I trust in the Spirit and in God, it just
seems to melt away. I've always been somewhat of a control freak (sadly enough)
and it's hard for me not to know exactly what is going on at exactly
what time. So, I've been trying to figure out how to fix that while on my
mission, because in the end, all it does is cause me stress. This morning, I
had a "revelation" from the Spirit. It's hard to put into words, but
basically, I was reminded of the scripture "Be still and know that I
am God." I'm going crazy trying to control every little thing, and
the whole time, Heavenly Father is sitting there, being the patient parent that
He is, until I'm exhausted, and then He goes "Are you done? Okay, good.
Here's what you actually need to do." :3 I've been humbled so many times
in my mission. The concept of conversion is so simple on paper, but then you
factor in our fallibility as humans and all of the mistakes we make (I know
that personally I'm guilty of making a lot) and it becomes a whole lot
more complicated. Trusting in the Lord is a lot like swimming in a river with a
strong current. We think that we need to go upstream, or to the other bank, or
wherever, and so we swim and swim until we're exhausted, but in reality, all we
need to do is to float and trust God because His current (His Spirit) will take
us exactly where He needs us to go.
President Nelson gave an incredible devotional yesterday,
and something that stood out to me the most was something that he didn't say
himself, but the Spirit brought it to my remembrance. The second point he
talked about, "Expect and prepare to do impossible things" kind of freaks
me out. How can I do impossible things? I know that with God all things are
possible, but that's a daunting task. Then, the Spirit reminded me of a quote
from Alice in Wonderland, where she says "Sometimes I believe
in as many as six impossible things before breakfast." Later,
she lists those things, and it turns out that they're pretty small things.
They're the things that we can't explain. The "Miracles" in our
lives. So, I've decided to try that out this week, and here's impossible thing
number one:
We have a Savior who suffered and died so that we would
live. And it worked.
I know that He lives and that He loves us. This is His
church, and we are His people.
I love you all so so much!
Have a happy day!
Love, Sister Tycksen
Me and Sister Matheson :)
My attempt at a selfie back during Christmas time
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