Sister Jack: One Year Later

Oh how the time flies by. Can you believe I have been gone for a year already? Well it’s true! Want to hear the exciting news? I am training a new missionary again starting on Wednesday, only this time she is called to speak in Chinese. Yes, Chinese. I guess dad should have taught me a bit more before I came on my mission. It will be an exciting next three weeks. We will be in a trio, and we haven’t gotten too many more details so I am not sure what will happen at the end of the three weeks. It was a bit of a surprise, usually you are safe until transfers before anything gets sprung on you, but the Lord works in mysterious ways.

I went on exchange to Liverpool. Before we go on exchange, we set some goals and decide on a miracle we want to see. Some examples may be finding a new investigator, teaching a lesson on the spot, etc. For my miracle, I wanted to give away The Book of Mormon that I wrote my testimony in. The first night on our bus ride home I sat next to a lady named Linda. She had a neighbor that was Mormon, believed in God on and off during her life, and needed the fullness of the gospel. It just seemed right to offer her the book, and she happily accepted it. It was a faith-building experience, and I am grateful for how the Lord provided a way for me to see that miracle.

During the exchange, I was able to learn a lot from my Heavenly Father through the Spirit. Let me tell you about the amazing revelation I received! Because of circumstances, I was praying quite fervently. First, I was taught about the Atonement. I realized that Christ truly did suffer for everything, even the consequences of choices others make. Christ knows what it is like to be affected by others’ poor decisions and feel that sorrow. There is absolutely nothing I can feel that the Savior has not already felt. Second, I was taught about who the Lord calls. We are called to different roles because of what we need to learn. If you know what you need to know, then the Lord will not call you to that place again but rather give someone else the opportunity. He does not need us in this work, but rather calls us for us to be able to grow. I know for a fact that the meek and the simple are called to the work. Finally, I learned about humility. I have been thinking a lot about Alma 32 and the difference between being humble (having that Christlike quality) or being humbled (put in a situation to make us humble). Often times, we will be affected by the choices of another person. However, it is the way we respond to the choice that defines our humility. We can either choose to react to the situation humbly (hence we are being humble), otherwise the situation will cause us to be humbled. No matter what we do, the situation will cause us to be humble one way or another, so we might as well choose to be humble from the beginning. Prayer works. I received very direct answers to my prayers that evening.

Furthermore, I finished my reading of the Doctrine and Covenants this week. The two things that stood out to me as common themes are missionary work and church organization. There is a strengthening power (specifically in relation to missionary work) that comes as we read the Doctrine and Covenants. Additionally, it is a testimony of how The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is Christ’s church restored to the earth today. This book identifies how much has been lost over time and is kind of the church’s “white handbook” of instruction. If they follow the revelation received, then they will not go astray and we will enjoy the blessings of the fullness of the gospel.

On a side note, I have a funny story that I wanted to report about last week. We went and taught primary last week about obedience. We played Simon Says and then were able to discuss more about obedience. We asked for some examples of times when the children had been able to be obedient. This little boy probably about 6-8 years old raised his hand. We called on him and he started to tell his story, which is as follows:

This one time we were going on holiday and I was hungry, so I went ahead and put a bag of chips (I am assuming it is what we think of as french fries) in the microwave. I didn’t know how to use the microwave and after a bit there was a fire inside. Then my [older] brother came out of the bath naked to see what was going on. [At which point his younger brother commented, “No you're lying.” He responded, “No. Ask mum.” Then he continued the story.] Well the neighbors came over and threw a bucket of water on it. That is what you get when you don’t listen to the Spirit.

I went ahead and thanked him for the story. Then I commented, “See we are able to learn the importance of being obedient to our parents.” At which point the young boy corrected me and said, “To the Spirit.” I am not sure about you, but I have never had the Spirit tell me to not put something in the microwave. This boy must have been very in tune with the Spirit. I think there is a lesson we can all learn from him about obedience.

I think that is all for now. Hope you are all doing well! Keep up the good work.

Love, Becca

p.s. Here are a description of the photos:

1. We got stuck in traffic again, so what do you do? Take a photo and enjoy life!