Tuesday, August 11, 2015

'Calling' Our Heavenly Father

Dearest Mother,

The car was not damaged, but it was a pretty funny story I thought. Sister Applegate doesn't, but I figured its over and done with, nobody got hurt, nothing was damaged, so I tell the story to everybody. haha. Really the best lesson in that is to listen to the Spirit. Sister Applegate had an impression that she should have made me get out and back the car, but she ignored it, and our car got stuck.. so yep. listening to the Spirit is important.

Evon is back home now! Well she is actually at her daughter's home because she can't be by herself anymore, but she is out of the hospital:) We went over to see her, and they were packing up all her stuff to put it in storage. As we got out of the car, she saw us, and squealed like a little girl. She was so excited that we came by to see her:) We gave her the pictures of us we had been carrying around for a while, and she said she was going to frame them in her room. We always ask if its ok if we read scriptures with her, or say a prayer, and she always gets after us because she said it won't ever be bad timing, so we should stop asking and just do it. I thought that was an awesome attitude towards God that many of us don't have anymore. How often do we put reading our scriptures or saying a prayer aside to sleep, or watch TV? Every single time we have ever talked with Evon, even though she is always in constant pain because of her surgeries and dialysis, she is always making time for us to talk with her for a little while. The only time she turned us away was when she had had a surgery less than 12 hrs prior, and she could barely move due to the pain. (Personally, I wouldn't have moved at all, but she still got up and answered the door to tell us that it wasn't a good time). She's one tough cookie. I love her so much!

We are also teaching this boy who is the grandson to some of the recent converts we have. Since he is still 8 and his mother and grandparents are members, he doesn't technically count as an investigator, but we still go over and teach him because his older siblings and mother are less active. He is so awesome! He is the only one in his family besides his grandfather who stays the entire time for church. He loves learning about the gospel and her reads without any prompting from us both his Book of Mormon and his Holy Bible. He even read something to his sister the other day that really touched her, and she was telling us a little about that. I don't think he realized what an impact it would have had on his sister, but he thought it was a cool verse, and so her shared it with his family. He thinks Joseph Smith is really cool, but he didn't realized that Joseph Smith was "way back in the 1800s!" He's so cute:) He asked us why anyone wouldn't ever want to be in the Celestial Kingdom, because it sounds so awesome, and I agreed with him. It blows my mind sometimes when its not something that people want. I asked him what it meant to him when I said how God is HIS Father in Heaven, and his response was "a lot." He really truly loves Heavenly Father. And he loves the peace and comfort he gets from Him. Heavenly Father is probably one of the main "father figures" that he has in his life, and it occurred to me, that it is so true that He is our Father. He's not just a figure of a father, but really truly our father! And the best part is that He will never fall short of our expectations, and He always knows exactly what is going through our minds at any one point. He is always there for us wherever and whenever we are. I love my earthly father very much, but it is hard sometimes because I can't call him at any point during the day, especially on my mission, but I can always call Heavenly Father, and he always is there to pick up His "phone" to hear about how we are doing and give us the comfort we need.

The other thing he said I also thought was a really awesome response. I asked him what he liked about having body, as opposed to a Spirit, and he said he loved being able to feel comfort and joy, and happiness. At first I thought he had misunderstood my question, but then I realized that it is true. Part of the reason we have gained a body here was to experience all parts of life. To feel pain so we can understand relief. To be sad, so we can appreciate happiness. To struggle in our life, so that we can be comforted. We would not be able to experience so much of what we have in our lives without our bodies. Our Spirits can fell some part of these things, but it is the Spirit and our Body together that we can feel the full effect that this can have on us. Everything we feel in our lives are amplified because of that connection. I love that this little boy reminded me of that, even though he may have still misunderstood my question a little, I love the insight that he gave me from it, because that truly is what he is thankful for in his life. Why I never really thought about that, I don't know, but it is definitely something to think about.

Well, all else is going well here in Warner Robins, Georgia:) Sister Applegate goes home next week, so I will be in a trio next time I email until transfers when I will get a new companion:) Its going to be great!

Love you lots!
-Sister Monica Walker

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