Sister Manson -Silly Me In Philly-: Remember Your Covenants

I hope everyone is very aware that I am coming home next week (:

Be excited for me! Haha I'm going to need all the help I can get. It will be weird...I'll let you all know now that I will be very awkward and just ask you all laugh at my missionary gospel humor

(btw this is my last email I'm sending out)

2 quotes I'd like to start off with that people have told me and that I've learned during these past 18 months

1.Serve because of your covenants....not because of your callings.

AND

2. You are never released from your covenants. You'll eventually be released from your callings but never from your covenants.

Good things to live by especailly as my calling as a full time missionary is ending.

We had the amazing experience with Sister Chang in the Washington D.C. Temple!!!

She is seriously so special to me. It was too cute seeing her in the celestial room. During her endowment she got to wear the headset and listen to the session in Chinese (: The spirit each filled us with so much peace.

Wanna hear the best miracle of it all??

Reason 327 why I love fasting.

Sister Jolley and I last Sunday both decided we would fast the day before Sister Chang's endowment. Which happened to fall on my birthday but I didn't really care. So Friday comes along and we are already fasting. We call Ssiter Chang that morning to follow up on how she's doing and she said she hadn't gone to her interview with the stake president yet because of the huge snow storm...and was going to get it on Sunday. Which meant she wasn't going to the temple the next day!! As soon as we hung up we texted Sister Diehl and asked her what the plans were for tomorrow and she shared the dilema but was trying everything she could to get it worked out...but that it didnt seem likely that they wouldn't get in for an interview. We contniued fasting and praying that whole day and saw a lot of miracles throughout the day.

Helped someone jump their car and met the nicest girl Tiffany!

Then about 530 rolls around. Still no word from Sister Diehl...

Sister Jolley and I are on our knees getting ready to break our fast discussing a few things and we hear our phone ring!!! It's a text from Sister Diehl saying that they were scheduled for an interview that night and the temple was still on for tomorrow! I have a huge testimony of fasting(:

Not only does fasting help us spiritually, but it shows Heavenly Father our faith in things happening.

Also later that same night around 830 we were getting ready to walk home from our last appointment. Before we get outside, Sister Jolley pulls me aside and shares with me she had an overwhelming feeling that we needed to be very cautious going home and be aware of our surroundings. We say a prayer before we got outside and started walking the 10 blocks home. We get about 2 blocks and we're right next to this ghetto dirty gas station. We kept walking but I saw someone pumping gas into their car and as I turned to look more who it was it none other than Sister Diehl and Sister Chang!!! They had stopped after their interview witht eh stake president to get gas before our big trip the next day. We were like hello!!!! She offered to drive us home and we were so happy! Man it's so humbling and overwhelmingly comforting to know that Heavenly Father answers and hears our prayers and fasts. She was a very direct answer to our prayers and she definitely acted on a spiritual prompting to stop for gas at that gas station right then instead of any 100 different times she could of. Heavely Father uses others to answer our prayers.

The temple is the greatest place on earth. I plan to make it a weekly occurance when I am home. Mmmm the peace one feels and the spiritual power and strength and promises you recieve from going to the temple are indescribable. Please go to the temple if you don't reguarly. If you are unworthy of going to the temple, make whatever changes nesseccary and get to the temple.

Heavenly Father's whole work is the temple! The main purpose of the gospel is what we learn in the temple.

My mission means so much to me. I have never been happier than being out here serving the Lord. Typed words or vocalized thoughts will never be able to accuarately describe how much my mission has changed, blessed, and strengthened my life. Things can never be the same from the experiences and the witness I've felt during these 18 months in the Pennsylvania Philadelphia Misson. Elder Holland says it better: "After an encounter with the living

Son of the living God, nothing is ever again to be as it was before"

Good things are going to happen!

I start up again at BYUI in April, come be my friend(:

I love you! And am really excited to see you all and give you HUGS

xoxo

Sister Christy Manson