Hi everyone!
Happy Birthday this week to my lovely sisters, Sarah and Mariah! This week there were 3 new babies born in my ward to families that I've grown really close to. Spring is such a fun and exciting time of the year! Lot's of birthdays, lots of reasons to celebrate! What a blessing it is to be alive in this time and have the Earth continually reminding us of the hope that the Gospel brings to our lives. No matter how cold and heavy the winter is, we can always be sure that spring and warmth is coming, because of the Savior.
Despite all of the celebration of new births in our ward, there has been a lot of sorrow in Rio Rico this week. On Monday night, a ward missionary that we worked very close with passed away unexpectedly, and also a daughter of a different ward missionary passed away a few days after. We spent a lot of time this week visiting family members of these members, and making sure they were comforted and taken care of.
During one of these visits, I found a new appreciation for the Gospel and the hope and comfort it provides for people who are desperate. Last night, we visited Hermana Millet, who is the mother of the girl who passed away. We showed up at her door, expecting to deliver words of encouragement and consolation, but instead she only wanted about the importance of missionary work...even though her daughter had just passed away! This lady is amazing, and her faith is so strong in the Lord. She told us of an experience that she had when she was in the temple after she found out that her daughter had passed away. Feeling desperate for answers from Heavenly Father, she went to the temple and the Lord showed her the bigger picture. He was able to comfort her by helping her have an eternal perspective of the plan that He has for her and her family members. After her experience, she felt HAPPINESS instead of sorrow, and by the time we came over, she had already been plotting and planning different ways she could share that happiness with others. Isn't that amazing? So we set up a few goals with her, and we plan on doing a lot of different things to find people to share the Gospel with this week :)
Heavenly Father really takes care of his missionaries! Sometimes I feel like a child when I realize how the Lord tries to teach me certain things over and over again. I have to relearn and relearn, and make mistake after mistake, and I still don't get it right. But He still helps me, always! This week, I was feeling really sorrowful for some of the mistakes that I keep making everyday, and for the people I'm teaching who aren't making the best decisions. In the midst of my feeling sorry for myself, Heavenly Father blessed me with an unexpected, and somewhat undeserved, trip to the Phoenix Temple, where He again blessed me with comfort, love, and answers to my prayers.
I know that He is aware of our individual and specific needs. He loves all of His children, and He wants to help us! We are promised over and over again in the scriptures that His arm is always extended, all we need to do is reach out.
I love you all so much! Hasta luego!
Hermana Townley
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