Faith and Patience

 Hello friends!

I wanted to start off my email by talking about a miracle of the week.

So, This week was a challenging one for sure. There were a lot of struggles. Wednesday night, I went to bed not quite sure how I was going to be able to handle the next day. Things seemed pretty bad, and I didn't even want to have to deal with Thursday.

However, Thursday morning, I woke up with over 20 emails in my inbox. None of you can know how much that meant to me. Thank you all who took the time to email me and tell me you loved me. It was something I desperately needed at the time and really carried me throughout a very difficult day.

I testify that God is aware of us in our struggles. Even though we go through hard things in life, He NEVER leaves us alone. 

Seriously, thank you. It may have seemed small to write Sister Miller an email, but it meant a lot to me.

We had exchanges on Tuesday and I had the coolest opportunity to learn from Sister Gonzaga. She taught me a lot! I learned about telling people about our purpose so that we are not just teaching people who don’t want to commit to anything. This is really important because most of the people we are teaching right now are having a hard time keeping commitments. It was cool to be able to emphasize our purpose and tell them why we are here. I am excited to implement a lot of the things that she does when we are teaching.

Teaching with Sister Gonzaga was amazing and helped build my confidence too! She gave me the opportunity to teach Lesson 1 all by myself and I did it!! My Tagalog was not perfect, but I can tell it is improving which is really exciting.

I am still working on my conversational Tagalog, but I know that as I just try and speak more, it will come!

Another fun thing this week was doing Family Home Evening with one of our recent converts and some members of the ward. It was my first time doing FHE here in the Philippines and it was a lot of fun. We taught a lesson and played games and then ate some food! It was supposed to start at 6, but in usual Filipino fashion, it started at 7. We used the extra time waiting to contact some friends and invite them to church!

Speaking of church…none of our friends have been able to make it to church for the last couple of weeks. It has been frustrating. Please send prayers that people will start coming to church and see the joy that the gospel can bring to their lives.

I had zone interviews this week. It was a good opportunity to talk with my mission president and get to know him a little better. 

This week was kind of crazy, but we made it!! 

Something I have been thinking about a lot this week is the people of Alma. I know I have already shared this before, but it is really important.

In Mosiah 24:10, 13-16

10 And it came to pass that so great were their afflictions that they began to cry mightily to God.

13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort, for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with my people and deliver them out of bondage.

14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter, and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in their afflictions. 

15 And now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord. 

16 And it came to pass that so great was their faith and their patience that the voice of the Lord came unto them again, saying: Be of good comfort, for on the morrow I will deliver you out of bondage.

I know that was a lot of scriptures, but it is all soo good and I couldn’t leave any of it out. This is what I love:

First: They cried unto the Lord. They knew who to trust. They knew that God would be their support.

Second: God first lifted their burdens and then strengthened them. The deliverance was not immediate. They had to experience hard things for a while. We do not know how long, but they did it for a while.

Third: They submitted with patience and faith. This week I found myself asking: When does deliverance come? I feel like I have been patient for a really long time. I have had faith. I have tried my best. Where is the deliverance? As I thought this, the thought came again, They submitted with patience and faith. Continue pressing on. God will keep carrying your burdens.

Fourth: So great was their faith and patience that the Lord did deliver them. Deliverance came after patience and faith. I know that I have had patience and faith through my experiences here, but I also know that with God, I can have more patience and faith and continue to trust in him. God always fulfills his promises to us.

As I have been experiencing a lot of things on my mission, I have learned what it means to develop a testimony of Jesus Christ. I have learned that the Atonement of Jesus Christ is much more than just allowing us to receive forgiveness from sins, but because of Jesus Christ’s perfect, atoning sacrifice, I will never be alone. I can give my burdens to the Lord. He is waiting to lift them and strengthen me. I know that I can do hard things. I know that the refiner’s fire is hard, but it is completely worth it. I know that I can hold out a little longer until deliverance does come. I know that God loves me. I know that my testimony would not be what it is now without these experiences.

None of us want to go through hard things in life, but when we experience pain, heartache, loneliness--that is when we learn to turn to the Lord. That is when we grow.

Now, I want you all to know that I am ok. We are making it. I would appreciate any prayers for the next week. It might be a bit of a challenge, but I know that God will strengthen me. And I know that He can strengthen all of you in your trials!

I love you all!

The church is true, God loves you

Be happy, Be brave, Be smart

Love,

Sister Miller