Octopus Jerky

The experiences this week was made just for me. Particularly to humble my little spirit.

I went on an exchange with a sister this week and had such a sacred experience with her. The thought came to ask her randomly if she felt Heavenly Father was proud of her. She started to cry and it was clear she wasn't sure and was trying to know Him better. We were able to feel the spirit so strong as I bore my testimony and help her feel That He is. I am very grateful to be serving where my sphere of influence is not only to strengthen our investigators or members of the ward, but also my some specific fellow sister missionaries that sister Bennett and I are with.  

One of my favorite things about being a missionary is personally feeling the intense a,punt of love Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have for each one of us.

ZONE CONFERENCE!

Thoughts:100 best zone conference of my whole mission. Good thing because it was my last one! Learned a lot more about the atonement and the doctrine of Christ. Shared our new mission 2015 theme with us: D&C 128:22 "shall we not go on is so great a cause? Go forward and not backward. Courage and on to the victory. Let your hearts rejoice and be exceedingly glad" 

Can't even describe how perfect this scripture is. Just for me:) 

We had some "octopus jerky" with sister Chang. It was good!

She is still set for january 31 to go get her temple endowment! So excited for her. 

Sunday in relief society we had a lesson all about prayer. I know that too was all just for me. 

I've been really studying and working on my prayers. Ultimately I've realized and gained a testimony of how prayer changes us. I've started to say personal vocal prayers. Which are 100x powerful. I feel the spirit the whole time while praying in my head it's so easy to get distracted.

If you have never prayed out loud privately before, I encourage and invite you to do so. It's alittle awkward and different at first, but I promise you'll be able to see and feel a huge difference. 

Heavenly Father's love for me cracks me up. He knows me really well..and it has just felt like for at least a week and half I've been running into a brick wall and just feeling really crappy for 100 different small silly reasons. I am a bit prideful when it comes to asking other people for help... But Heavenly Father gave me some very specific experiences and feelings and thoughts with the spirit to help me be humble enough to ask for a priesthood blessing. But so much peace came during and right after I got a blessing. I wrote down all my thoughts and made very specific promises to Heavenly Father and for the first time in a while i felt an INSANE amount of peace. That experience helped me gain an even stronger testimony of the priesthood power and its ability to heal and comfort and bless and uplift. I am just so grateful for the priesthood and that experience I had last night. 

One of our appointments canceled so we decided to stop by a referral. Sister Bennett  Originally thought it was the house # was 908 and I said it wasn't. Haha so we knocked on a door we thought she lived and got no answer. Then we were going to go back to the car but sis Bennett wanted to knock on 908 so we did! 

Something my mission has taught me is to be persistent. I have a very strong testimony and belief in being persistent. A women opened the door and didn't want to talk to us..at all!

At first we could barely see her eyes as she cracked the door open. Then we talked and could see her daughter and started talking to her and we were there bearing testimony for like 2-3 minutes in the rain! At this point she was about ready to either let us come in or kick us out. 

She finally said "okay come in" after we practically begged her to let us share truth with her. 

Super cool experience! Bore testimony of restoration and Book of Mormon. She opened up a lot about some deep personal things and I just felt so much love for her and did not want to leave until she knew what I knew about the gospel. I felt strongly inspired and prompted to promise her if she kept her commitments we left, she would get the job she was worrying about getting. She felt the spirit and it was way powerful. We are going back tomorrow:) 

Good things happen as we push ourselves and go beyond that which is normally done. 

Inconvenience verses convenience.

One of my favorite principles of the gospel. 

Missions are hard and taxing...but everything about the gospel is also.

Salvation is not a cheap experience. I am grateful for the times on my mission, but at the beginning and more recent times, where my heart and soul have seemed to be stretched so thin, only to realize that it was so I can feel joy deeper. 

Alma 36:20

"my soul was filled with joy as exceeding as was my pain!"

I love you!

Sister Manson