Hello
Family & Friends and...
Happy
Easter! 185th anniversary of the Church
of Jesus Christ being restored to the Earth. What a special day.
I
think I say that every week is the Best Week Ever. This is one of the top best weeks. Everything worked out in the way that it
needed to.
We
have a Mission Leadership Council once a month where missionary leaders from
all over the mission come together and receive trainings from President Craig,
Sister Craig, the Assistants to the President, and Sister Kloepfer & I. Yes, we gave a training! It was my very first time giving a training in
front of all of these amazing leaders--actually, phenomenal. The best of the mission. But it was so much fun because they are all my
best friends, so when you can look at it as giving a training to your best
friends, the "nervous" or "scary" aspect before getting up
there, goes away. We gave a training on
the 'Daily Planning Session'. To sharpen
up the skills of our planning so that we can have an intricate planning session
that the Prophet and Apostles have directed us to. I learned so much from preparing and giving
this training. How we plan and prepare
for our day shows the Savior how much we love Him. Because the surrounding focus of our plans
throughout the day are, inviting others to come unto Christ by helping them
receive His restored gospel and eventually into baptism. (Alma 37:37,41) Since
everything in the mission life prepares us for post mission life, I will plan
to find at least one person to share the gospel with everyday when I return
home. That is one way I can show my love
towards the Savior and my friends.
I
was also able to go on a tradeoff with Sister Anderson in the Lake Butler Ward
area. Oh how I loved being there for one
whole day. It's more of a country land
with less stoplights than the fingers on my two hands. It reminded me a lot about St. Johns where
Great Grandma lives. The people there
are so friendly, every single one of them. I walked into the Church during a night where
there was Young Women's and a Book of Mormon class. Every person there made me feel so welcomed. I felt like I was on top of the world for a
day because everyone wanted to know my name and make me feel so welcomed,
but not only that, they wanted to know who I was, what is my life like. The little children, youth, adults. I had never felt like that before, so
instantly. I realized right then and
there that this is how they were with every new face. I witnessed it. These people were radiating the light of
Christ and you could tell they loved their Savior and honored their
covenants because of the way they treated each other they did not know. I am going to follow their example and bring
that Spirit of love and welcome into the lives of people I don't know in my
Church ward because it made ALL the difference. This is also one of the fastest growing Wards
in the mission. I know it's because
Heavenly Father trusts this Ward.
I
could go on and on about General Conference this past weekend. The Spirit I felt was incredible, the sessions
flew by so quickly. I had written down
four questions and all of them were answered through the words that were spoken
and the Spirit that I felt. I thought it
was so neat that Elder Wilford W. Andersen combined two of the personality
traits that make me who I am. The gospel
and dance. It was neat to be able to
learn the gospel in my language of dance. I like how he said, "The dance steps of
the gospel are in the mind. The music of
the gospel is the joy felt in the heart." In dance, knowing the dance combination is
great! We can practice and practice it
and have it perfect....and never perform it. But knowing it and sharing it shows how much
you love it because you're communicating a message to others through this
talent. Likewise, knowing the gospel is great! But if we don't live it, then we won't ever
grow in experience. It is like we are
hiding the light we have been given. We
won't understand our purpose as sons and daughters in the covenant trying
to be like Jesus.
There
are so many things I learned. But this I
know, that President Thomas S. Monson is the current Prophet of the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. That
Jesus Christ is at the head of this Church, who speaks to President Monson and
leads him to help us in every step of the way. I have been called by a prophet, and in the
Savior's command to teach His restored gospel to the people here in
Jacksonville. I love it.
Have
a great week!
Love,
Sister McCook
 |
| 1. I did mom's General Conference tradition for Sunday and made crepes early in the morning. |
 |
| 2. That is Sharra's family. They came all the way from Arlington just to
eat lunch with Sister Kloepfer and I. It was very nice of them to do that. |
 |
3. Because He Lives |
 |
4. The famous 'blue wall' in Lake Butler |
No comments:
Post a Comment