December 30, 2013

HOLAAA! 

Thank you everyone for all the awesome Christmas cards and thank you ward for that shiny golden paper! it made me super happy! Its great to see how much happiness can come from all these little things! So thanks! 

This Christmas was great! I got to spend Christmas Mexican style! and it was a lot of fun! Hispanics actually usually celebrate Christmas Eve and they stay up all night and watch movies and eat and spend time with their family and then in the morning they open their presents. haha I like that I think that's fun! We went over to a members house and ate realllllyyyy good food and we just talked about family and they have a son that is on a mission right now and they were telling us a story about how he had to help someone kill a cow and his companion was freaking out about it and said that he didnt sign up for this when he signed his papers for a mission haha but he said the meat was super fresh and it tasted really good! haha and then we went to another members house on christmas day and spent some time talking about her husbands mission ( he just got back a couple months ago and they are newly married) and she gave us some great marriage advice because she's been married before. She said that now she doesn't do anything big without knowing for sure that it is what Heavenly Father wants her to do. And she's seen the gift of repentance and the gift of knowing that our Heavenly Father really does want the best for us, which gave me so much more of a belief that it is true. Heavenly Father really does want the best for us.

It was awesome to skype my family on Christmas! that was so awesome! 

Haha its so funny to see all the truths every return missionary talks about on their mission, like that you actually lived at your house at one point in your life with your family and you went to work and listened to non doctrinal music and read more than the scriptures and preach my gospel hahaha! But it's so true. haha I understand RM's so much more now. ah man. 

But I love my family! 

And I love what the Mission is doing to me and to everyone around me! The mission is the hardest, best thing ever. And Every day I'm learning something new. The whole mission is a changing process and especially this week has had a lot of change. And a lot of changing for the better. We just had transfers and I am now in Bloomington with Hermana Pelaez and starting over in a new area is pretty tough, especially when you just started getting used to the area you were in before and all of the people you were teaching in that area you grow to love so much. 

But, I've learned that everything that is done is for a reason and that there are so many unseen blessings in store here in Bloomington and I've already begun to see them! I've learned especially the power of the priesthood and how much of a blessing from our Heavenly Father it is to have that. How much of a blessing it is to have the Holy Ghost in our lives to be able to guide us in such trying days. And to be able to feel the love of our Heavenly Father for all of His children and seeing that He truely does care for each and every one of us individually.  

One thing I've learned this week is that you will never know the blessings you can give others unless you have the courage to do something about it! I've begun to realize that life is about doing. It's about having the courage to do what you know is right even when it seems like all the forces are against you. We have to be the light in the darkness so others don't have to stand in the dark their whole lives. I'm not to fond of the dark myself, and seeing light in others gives me hope! Don't hide your light under a bushel! 

I wish I could share all of the experiences that I have day by day because it's all these little experiences that is helping me see that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints is undoubtedly true. And I can't express the way that makes me feel. Other than it makes me so happy! 

Thanks for all of your love and support this week! 

Love Hermana Ficklin