Mississippi Jackson: Quick Changes

Good morning, world! It is a lovely, humid day in Gulfport, Mississippi. This comes to you from the Family History Center in the stake center. You see, it's transfer week; that's why this is so late. And we humble members of the Biloxi district are undergoing some changes.

Sadly, my lovely companion Sister Abril is being transferred to the Monroe Zone. I'm sad to see her go; we only had one transfer together! And we don't even get to celebrate our birthdays together. We had these amazing plans to celebrate since we're only a day apart! But, that's okay. God has better plans for Sister Abril! It was a privilege to be her companion. She is going to bless the lives of those wherever the Lord sends her. She's certainly taught me a lot, and I can't wait to hear of her adventures in Louisiana.

Others that are leaving include: Elder Godfrey and Elder Castrejon. We will be receiving a new district leader, but I have no idea who the new people are yet! I'm afraid y'all will just have to wait in suspense until next week.

Sister Abril and I went on many adventures this week. A lizard managed to climb into our car (after Sister Abril tried to catch it) and hid itself behind some of the panels on the driver's side. We have yet to see that lizard. It has been a week.

I've learned a great many things about the Great Apostasy and its significance to today. I've found twelve different ways to make chicken and rice. I had ceviche for the first time. So many great and amazing things happened this week; I wish I could detail all of them for you!

With the chaos of transfers coming up, Sister Abril and I were very busy this week; we did as much teaching as we possibly could, trying to touch as many souls as possible. In doing so, I learned some new teaching methods this week: for instance, lessons aren't always traditional, the way Preach My Gospel would lay them out to be. A lot of lessons are impromptu, and people hardly learn the way you think they're going to. Sister Abril and I had the opportunity to tell a Book of Mormon story to a group of kids who'd never even heard of it! I wasn't sure they would understand the message behind what we taught them, but man, was I proved wrong! Set beside a truck bed, with beat-up lawn chairs and buzzing mosquitoes, we told them the story of Nephi and his older brothers going to retrieve the plates from Laban (1 Nephi 3).

We learn a lot of basic principles from that story alone. We learn about the spirit of revelation, listening to the promptings of the Spirit, aligning our will with God's, ceasing our murmuring, remaining faithful, and so forth. These principles and many more were exclaimed as Sister Abril and I checked the kids' understanding. They were excited to hear about another story next time we came, and I'm super excited to share it with them!

While reflecting on my week, I've tried to come up with some kind of story to tell, or a lesson learned. I learn so many things in a day, and I don't always get the chance to write them down. Heavenly Father is always teaching me something, and I think lately it's been to rejoice.

We, as humans, have this amazing talent for reprimanding ourselves for the littlest of things. We are able to make a longer list of our faults than our strengths. On the journey to perfection, we tend to deny ourselves the love that Heavenly Father offers us by telling ourselves we should have sprinted to the finish by now, when Heavenly Father wants to reward us for simply taking a step forward.

In missionary work, I ofttimes find myself hating a lot of my work. I should have done this, I say -- I should have taught this, said that, done this, talked to that person, gone here instead. And while we can always improve -- and certainly, I know that I have quite a bit of room for improvement -- Heavenly Father wants us to take a look at where we are and who we've become, and then look back and see where we last stood and who we once were.

Lately, I've been trying to take Ammon's approach to missionary work. Ammon is quite the amazing guy. He's a very bold missionary. He's very loving and very clever. He knows how to teach simply. He knows how to find investigators, how to keep them interested, and how to truly invite the Spirit.

Ammon accomplishes quite a bit during his ministry. I can't list all of his accomplishments, but he is a steadfast missionary, and I strive to be like him. In Alma 26, he is overjoyed with the success he and his fellow missionaries had with the Lamanites. As he is describing how happy he is, Aaron -- one of the other missionaries -- "rebukes" him and says, "Ammon, I fear that thy joy doth carry thee away into boasting" (v. 10).

I imagine Ammon laughing when Aaron says that, and he says, "I do not boast in my own strength, nor in my own wisdom; but behold, my joy is full, yea, my heart is brim with joy, and I will rejoice in my God" (v. 11).

Ammon knows where the credit goes -- it goes to God. Without God and Jesus Christ, we can do nothing. They are the ones who make all things possible, and Ammon knows that. He knows it wasn't him or his brethren who converted the Lamanites; it was the Spirit of the Lord. He goes on to explain the great and wonderful miracles that were wrought because of that Spirit. He says:

"We have suffered all manner of afflictions, and all this, that perhaps we might be the means of saving some soul; and we supposed that our joy would be full if perhaps we could be the means of saving some.

Now behold, can we look forth and see the fruits of our labors; and are they few? I say unto you, Nay., they are many; yea, and we can witness of their sincerity, because of their love towards their brethren and also towards us" (v. 30-31).

What fascinates me about these verses is that Ammon expected very little to come out of their ministry. He knew that people had their agency, that most of them probably wouldn't accept his message. All he wanted to do was save someone.

Because of the missionaries' humility, their diligence, love, testimony, and persistence, the Spirit was brought unto the Lamanites, and so many people changed because of it.

We expect very little out of our lives, I think. We have great plans and we feel like what actually comes falls short of what we deem to be the best. We feel like we should know what we want to do with our lives; we should have financial security, the solid testimony, the extensive knowledge of the scriptures, the job we want, etc. We want so much and see what little we have and feel like we are making meager strides towards being who God wants us to be.

If you feel this way -- if you feel that you are below what God wants you to be when you are trying your best and still falling short, I would like for you to take advice from Ammon:

"Now have we not reason to rejoice? Yea, I say unto you, there never were men that had so great reason to rejoice as we, since the world began' yea, and my joy is carried away, even unto boasting in my God; for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things, and he is a merciful Being, even unto salvation, to those who will repent and believe on his name" (v. 35 This is also Sister Abril's favorite scripture, just so y'all know!).

This does not mean we should be content with the spot we've reached and start walking along a spiritual plateau. But, you must rejoice, brothers and sisters. Be happy as a child of God. He loves you. He is commending you for your efforts to do better, even if you don't even realize that you're doing better. If you are trying to improve, trying to take steps toward God, trying to meet the challenges He gives you and doing the best you can, then I can assure you that you're improving. And if you don't feel like it, ask Heavenly Father, and remember the atonement of Jesus Christ.

He makes up for all the things we can't reach. He fills in all of the holes that dig into our hearts. He is the one who takes the strides we can't. He wants to help you, and He is helping you. He will help you achieve your goals; He will help you be more sanctified, more loving, ready to learn, ready to listen, ready to be a better disciple. He is there for you in all trials. And if that does not give you a reason to rejoice, then I don't know what will.

Have a good week, brothers and sisters. I hope y'all had a happy Independence Day! I know we did.

Be safe. Be kind. Remember to rejoice! The Savior is here to help you.

I love y'all! I'll have more updates next week.

Godspeed!

Sincerely,

Sister Rose

Elder Paxton, one of our resident Spanish missionaries, is rather tan for how white he is. So, last P-Day, we decided to spray his hair black to see if he looked Hispanic. (The answer is no. He actually just looks whiter.)

I asked Elder Godfrey to imitate Sister Abril. I think he's rather spot-on.

Companionship selfie! feat. Elder Godfrey

Our last district photo before transfers! :( In this photo (from left to right): Elder Paxton, Elder Godfrey, Elder Hughes, Elder Tenifa, Sister Abril, Elder Ah Ching, ME!, and Elder Castrejon.