Week 8 "Build your foundation upon Christ"

 

Being silly,getting ready to teach an object lesson.. and I'm  so excited to see Despicable Me2

The Sikh temple

 

We had gone to the zoo with Charlie and Sterling. So fun. 

 

These two pics show the beauty of Texas... the sky at least ;)

 

I love Texas with all my heart but, man, the summers are not very pretty. The sky is always beautiful though. Tender mercy from God :)

 

 one of many sunflower fields <3

 really awesome Sikh experience

 

Basically I love my companion!!!!!!!!! 

 

 That cute family is the Petty family.. who unfortunately moved to Utah. She was the one who took us to the zoo. Her kids were the cutest. That was also the night of my first exchange with Sister Heath in Garland. It didn't feel right leaving my companion! I love Sis Hansen.

We were meant to be companions. 

Week 8 "Build your foundation upon Christ"

Happy 22nd Anniversary to the best parents in the world! I would not be the person I am today if it weren't for my parents and their example to me. If they hadn't listened to the spirit when they met and got engaged I definitely wouldn't be here. They have an incredible story and I'm so thankful to be a part of their legacy. My favorite six year old is turning seven this week as well! Again, if my parents weren't who they are, Emily wouldn't be here either. Each birthday of Emily's is a great reminder to me of the importance of a gospel-centered family. Her birth was a miracle, and it was because my parents were worthy of that miracle that we all have a chance of having Emily in our lives. I love that little girl to pieces! I am so grateful that through the gospel of Jesus Christ I get to be with my family forever. Among the abundance of wonderful churches down here, eternal families still stands unique to our church, and it is my favorite thing to share with everyone I meet. Everyone here in The Colony definitely knows of my love for my family!

Something that has remained constant throughout these weeks has been opposition. Even when you are exactly obedient, so many things seem to go wrong. I should say especially when you're exactly obedient, things go wrong. Satan knows how much happiness the gospel can bring to families. He knows how many lives Sis Hansen and I are going to change. He is trying so hard to stop it, but nothing can stop us now! I love being a missionary. I've met so many people who go through such hard things and don't have a foundation on Christ to help them through it. Helaman 5:12 has been my favorite scripture of the week: And now, my sons, remember, remember that is is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his might winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall.I know that is true. I have felt it every day as a missionary. The thing is, lots of people have a foundation on Christ here in Texas. They have Christ in their hearts and are such good people because of it. The thing we have to offer them is the fullness of the gospel! We have it all as Latter-Day Saints, nothing missing. We have a prophet who receives direct revelation from God to interpret His word and stand as a witness of Him to lead and guide as back to Him. We ran into a man yesterday who had mentioned he was active in his church and recognized that all the Christian churches interpret the Bible differently. We were able to tell him, we have God's exact interpretation of doctrine in the Bible through a living prophet. He is now a new investigator! It simply makes logical sense that God is greater than all these separate churches with conflicting doctrine. He has His church with the same organization Christ set up with prophets and apostles on the Earth today. I love it. 

Probably my favorite thing about my mission right now is we teaching mainly families. In the past, we have worked with individuals who eventually didn't progress. I believe families have the support system and recognize how the gospel can bless their family. I felt really impressed to look in our area book through the former investigators who had been dropped by previous missionaries. This particular family had been dropped a year ago with no reason why they had stopped taking the lessons. I told my companion we should stop by their house and they turned out to be completely prepared to accept our message. They had stopped simply because last year the mom had been fighting cancer and they were struggling financially so were too stressed and busy to have the missionaries over. As of this week she is 4 weeks cancer free and ready to take the lessons with her husband and son. 

We are also working with a granddaughter of a member whom I love! She is 16 and has had such a hard life. She's pretty much  turned her back on God for reasons not many can blame her for. However we taught her the basic principle of God's love for her and that He desperately wants to love her, she just needs to open her heart. We invited her to pray. The next lesson she said she prayed and kind of got an answer, but she said she knew she wasn't trying hard enough and said she'd keep praying. I know she'll get an answer. She's coming to mutual this Wednesday and is so excited to feel that same love and comfort I have found through God. It's been eye opening to realize that God in reality loves us all equally. If we take the time to recognize that in our lives, we WILL feel it. My testimony of that has grown miles in the past two months.

I'm doing well here. It's hard to believe it's already been 2.5 months. My back, neck, and jaw have been causing a lot of issues so prayers would be much appreciated. God is taking good care of me though. In this one area I know 5 massage therapists very well who are willing to help. One of them just happens to be the best in all of Dallas. The first two times she saw me, there was little progress and she said she's never seen a case so difficult to fix in her entire career.. Then I turned to God and asked some men in my ward to give me a priesthood blessing. She saw me after the blessing and somehow my muscles started doing what she wanted! It's still going to be a long process.. hopefully finished within the next 4 weeks, but I am so grateful I am so well taken care of and blessed. I am not going home til they make me go home at the end of my 18 months.

One last thing I'd like to share that I found. Elaine S. Dalton who used to be the YW general president had a talk called We Are Daughters of Our Heavenly Father in the last general conference. I loved her closing testimony and I would love to share it. "Today as a daughter of God, I stand as a witness that He lives. Jesus is the Christ. He is our Redeemer. It is through His infinite atoning sacrifice that I will one day return to live with Him- proven, pure, and sealed in an eternal family. I shall ever praise Him for the privilege of being a woman, a wife, and a mother. I testify that we are led by a prophet of God, President Thomas S. Monson, and I am grateful for righteous men, whose priesthood power blesses my life. And I shall ever be grateful for the strength I receive through the enabling power of the Savior's infinite Atonement as I continue to strive to "act well my part." " I know that with my whole heart. I believe it. I live it. I love it. I am so thankful for the opportunity to share that. 

Happy Birthday my Emily Joy Dalling. I love you forever and always.

Sister Dalling