Sister Manson -Silly Me In Philly-: All-You-Can-Eat Buffet

This week started out SUPER rough..but it ended great(:

We went to this SKETCHY chinese place...#yolo and we tried all the gross looking food hahah in preparation for our thanksgiving feast..

Thanksgiving was so fun. We had a cute little get together at the church with some of the members and stuffed our faces and then went to the Sikahema's and ate even more food! I ate so much... #RegretOneHourLater.

But I have decided that I'm going to marry into the Sikahema family because they are so fun!! They would be the perfect in-laws hahaha. They only have one son left...so my chances are pretty slimmmmm hahahaha....

By the end of this week we find out who gets transferred! So I may or may not have a new address...I'll keep you all informed(:

I have been studying mercy a lot this week and what that means. I looked it up the old skool way in our 30 pound oxford dictionary...

Mercy:

"Compassion by one person to another who is in power and who has no claim to receive kindness"

That last part struck me hard..Heavenly Father loves everyone even the people we think don't deserve it..

We found 4 new investigators this week! One we found while in the bathroom....hahah

here's what went down:

We were trying to go to a library on Saturday but the one we usually go to was closed because they close early on Saturdays..so we went to a different one that was pretty out of our way but we decided to go anyways. we plugged the address into our GPS and it took us a really weird/long way through neighborhoods. So by the time we got the library we only had like a half an hour until it closed. So we get on the computer and I was looking up things on LDS.org and watched a really awesome Mormon Message called Daily Bread. It was so good, and then I read President Uchtdorfs new motto about "Service Above Self"

That's about all I was able to get done when the computer shut me off because the library was closing. So after that we went to go use the restrooms. I noticed this lady come into the bathroom right after us. So I purposefully started talking..loudly to my comps about what I had just learned/watched. I was talking and hoping that the lady could hear me, and she did! Because when she came out of the stall she smiled at me and started asking me questions about what I had just been talking about. hahaha #ItWorked

So I shared that stuff and talked to her about our Church and she wanted us to come over and talk to her more about it! We were like..OF COURSE. So we gave her a card with our names and phone# on it and set up an appointment to meet with her this Wednesday! We were so happy and excited. Strengthen my testimony that we need to bear testimony EVERYWHERE. Even in the bathroom haha. And it was cool too because everything was perfectly timed so we would be at the same place and at the same time. We probably wouldn't have found her if our GPS took us a faster way, or if the normal library we go to was opened, or if we decided to go the bathroom before using the computers instead of afterwards...

There are no coincidences! :)

Also learned its good to talk about the church and bear testimony in places where people have no choice but to listen to you. Hahaha...like the bathroom, or on an airplane, or on public transportation like buses/trains.

Back to the Daily Bread message I watched on lds.org

It was so good! Go and watch it! :)
...

Would you go 2 days without eating physical substances..aka food? haha of course not. Then why do we sometimes go weeks even months without eating any spiritual substances?

The Israelites live on manna for 40 years! God literally provided their daily substance. The manna would just appear on the ground and they would eat it and that's how they survived. They couldn't store it though, they had to keep gathering it everyday. He did it so they would not forget the source of their blessings and to always remember Him.

It's not a accident that we have to have daily physical substances. It's the same with spiritual substances! I've felt like my mission has been an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet of spiritual food! Imagine not eating any food for a super long time and then going to an All-You-Can-Eat Buffet and stuffing your face! hahaha yeah well that pretty much sums up my spiritual experience/feasting so far serving a mission.

Alma 32:28

"it beginneth to enlarge my soul; yea, it beginneth to enlighten my understanding, yea, it beginneth to be delicious to me"

Sums up my feelings perfectly.

We went over to a members house Sunday and ate dinner with her and her family. Literally the saddest thing ever... We sat and listened to her cry and vent about how awful her divorce has been, and a bunch of other stuff..like by the end I was crying and so were my companions..

I just care so much about the people here and it hurts me to see them like that. And it makes me sad that I can't really do anything to help them..All i can do it help them to rely on their Savior.

It felt like I got a tiny microscopic glimpse of what it must have felt like for the Savior, who felt not only her's but EVERYONE'S sadness and pains. And I haven't even known her for that long and was able to feel for her, but the Savior knows and loves her COMPLETELY, so I can't even imagine how that must have felt for Him when he did it not only for just her, but me and you and everyone..Think about the selfless he had...I know Jesus is the CHRIST. Our perfect, loving, merciful, kind Savior.

My testimony of Him and the Atonement increases each day, as I see and meet people here who need Him.

i hope everyone's thanksgiving was fun!

love sister manson

Ponder on this quote and tell me what you think it means, pretty deeeeeep:"

Irritation is an invitation to godliness"