baking Micronesian bread
the Sudanese wedding
notice the henna? all the bridesmaids had them to
it was a mix between a Lutheran wedding and an African party
the church was beautiful-
notice the organist- he was really good at playing
Hormel mansion
creepy german mannequin in the shower haha
megan (:
white handbook rule: companions should sleep in the same room, but not on the same bed.
look what we found!
schnow
a Christmas present from sister anderson
Invierno!!!
It is a lovely 10 degrees in MinneSnowta! It's so pretty here
right now! And cold!
This week has been so much fun! We helped one of our members
from Micronesia make tons of bread for a family reunion, we got invited to
attend a Sudanese wedding, whom we didn't know the bride or the groom haha, we
had a Christmas dinner party at one of our less actives house which in and of
itself was a miracle!! She hasn't decorated for Christmas since 2009. And we
also went on a tour of the Hormel Mansion with Megan.
So needless to say it's been an interesting, adventure filled
week, aside from teaching gospel lessons!
But! speaking of Gospel lessons, we saw soooo many awesome
miracles this week!
So we are teaching one of the Doctors from Mayo clinic who is
just amazing! And the most polite man I think I've ever met. He is a
great example to me of fighting for truth. He asks the questions of the soul,
and last time he explained to us that his brother has cancer and he's been
spending some time pondering about why do bad things happen to good people. He
struggles with having faith in Jesus Christ and that is one of
his doubting questions he's had. Such a good, and important question to have.
We are going to talk about it with him tonight, and we are having one of our
members come with us who work at Mayo as well (: We are so excited for him!
If any of you have ever had this question before, there is an
answer. My thoughts are this:
Trials are a part of Mortality and agency, they are to make
us experience good and evil for ourselves, and having a trial of our faith, we
can ask ourselves if we will we trust in the Atonement of Jesus Christ. The
book of Job in the old testament has some amazing chapters on trials.
We also had a lesson with one of our long time investigators who
is faced with many trials having to do with divorce, and losing his job, as
well as the challenge of learning English and he's been
extremely weighed down by all this the last few weeks and we
feared he was at the end of his rope. Let me tell you that I am so
grateful for our members. We took one of our members with us, not knowing what
the lesson would bring, and she talked with our investigator about trials. The
message she shared was one of hope, that we are good enough, even though Satan
tries to break us down when we are low.
Sister Peterson has had a lot of trials in her life and she is
one of my greatest examples of strength and hope, as well as how things turn
out good when we strive to do what is right. She's amazing, and I watched first
hand how the spirit spoke to our investigator who moments before looked like he
was in utter despair change his outlook on life to one of a light behind his
eyes wondering if what she told him was true. I saw that God uses us as
instruments in his hands for many different purposes and our trials we face may
one day be the testimony that others need to hear to give them hope to get
through theirs.
We also have been teaching two Hispanic families who have the
cutest kids ever! They are all mothers who want their children to grow in the
gospel and learn more about God. We've been doing Family home evenings with the
families and they love it so much!!! You know what I'm grateful for? Having
FHE's with my family.
There's so much benefit from doing family home evening. Not only
does it teach you about God, but it is strengthening your bonds with everyone
around you. You are building the kingdom of God in your own home, you are
turning your children into the stripling warriors. It's so cool! And you
wouldn't even think you were doing such a marvelous work by simply being
together learning about simple gospel principles, acting out charades, and
eating cookies.
I absolutely love this work and I'm so grateful for my mission,
I'm grateful for freezing Minnesota weather, it helps us to get into homes
quicker. I'm grateful for my family and the support and example they are to me.
I love my Heavenly Father and I love my brother Jesus Christ who through all
things are possible. I love the world we live in and I love the fact that we,
all individual persons, can make a difference in the lives of others for
generations to come!
Love you all! Keep warm!
Love Hermana Ficklin
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