this week has been really great. i realized that after today, i only have 2 more Preperation days and then i'll be on a plane early Tuesday morning the 18th to taiwan. Wow. that just seems so strange that the time has gone by so fast.
i got a dearelder from dad yesterday. I LOVE THAT OUR FAMILY IS PLAYING RUGBY! haha you will all have to teach me. it sounds like things are going well and that you are not getting the same "roughing it in tainjin" experience like our first time to china was. i am still so excited about mom and dad's calling. wow- please tell me more about the work you are doing and how spreading the gospel is going. we learned from Elder Bednar this week (it was a devotional rerun) that becoming a missionary is a lifelong pursuit. we have been foreordained to take this gospel to all the world. i'm really striving to make goals here on my mission and develop habits that i can continue to practice even after i am released. i am so grateful for so many friends and family members that are righteous examples of RM's. Elder Bednar said that we may leave the mission but the mission should never leave us. so it's my new goal to be an awkward, overly energetic RM for the rest of my life. i hope i can always be doing the Lord's work.
sister chord and i were just at the temple. we got to perform sealings today. wow- it reminded me of being in the St
George temple with Grandpa Blake. That was such a sacred experience and i'm so grateful i was able to spend that time with them before my mission. Being in the sealing room helped me gain a more eternal perspective. Heavenly Father is so merciful and He is seeking to bless us. we get so caught up in daily life that sometimes we fail to see how He is trying to communicate with us. in 3 nephi 11:3-5 it talks about how God was trying to speak with the surviving Nephites. He is speaking clearly the entire time- there is nothing faulty in how he is communicating. the reason they can't hear is because there is something wrong with the way they are LISTENING. it is only when they seek to understand and know that they are able to hear His voice clearly. the same is true for us. we can choose what we are focusing on. here at the MTC, i have really been working on noticing the Lord's tender mercies in my life. and the more i seek, the more i see. He is desperately trying to speak to us. but we must come unto Him, guixiang YesuJidu. it is wonderful to know that however feeble our first attempts to come unto Him are, He will run to us and succor us and HELP us come unto Him.
we were taught in relief society this week by sister Mary Cook of the young women presidency (wow i love the young women program!!) she was just the speaker i needed that day. she talked about the redeeming and enabling power of the atonement. the redeeming power frees us from sin and allows us, as we diligently repent, to be free from sin. the enabling power allows us to become so much more than we could ever become on our own. we all have things in our life and personality that we need to change. these things may be habits we have been stuggling with for our whole lives. through Christ, we can have the power on a day to day basis to overcome those habits and characteristics. we can receive His enabling power in our life that helps us sustain good works that we could not sustain on our own (bible dictionary- GRACE). after lunch, i get pretty tired here. haha it is harder for me then to stay focused or motivated. putting the atonement of Jesus Christ into effect, i pray so hard that i will have power beyond my own to do His work. and He gives it to me. as i push myself, He gives me the strength to overcome. this life is hard. we all are constantly dealing with struggles or emotions or kaoyan. everyday is hard. but everyday is so joyful. Christ gives us power everyday through His atonement to press forward. and as we feel His influence in our life, nothing is impossible. i am so grateful for my Savior and the hope He brings to this life. the temple is a wonderful place and i am so glad our family is forever. i am SO excited to, not only lead people to baptism, but also to the temple. there, they can receive God's greatest blessings and feel so close to Him. I am excited to teach people about eternal families and help them see the mercy of God.
this week, sister Chord and i had so much fun. i love her so much and i am grateful for her friendship. we just talk and laugh and we spend so much time serving one another. i am really learning about how people are watching you all the time. especially as a missionary. and as members of this church. we have taken upon Christ's name (i feel blessed to wear that name on my tag) and we have made covenants with Him. we change and influence so many lives when we obey those covenants. when we work hard to be disciples, we motivate others to be better disciples. we show our love for the Savior by the way we act and help others feel our Saviors love for them.
a thought i had during devotional was to invite everyone who reads this letter to read the Book of Mormon. that is a sacred book that bring us closer to Christ. as i read, i feel the Spirit and learn so much. i feel the scriptures and the spirit speaking to me and teaching me and guiding me. if we STUDY the Book of Mormon, Christ has promised us, through Gordon B Hinkley, that we will feel a greater measure of the spirit in our lives. we will draw closer to God and He will run to us. i have felt that here. if you are in the middle of the Book of Mormon, keep going. if you havent started yet, start in 3 nephi 11. i promise you that as you read this chapter and then the entire book, you will feel Christ's love for you and you will feel more purpose and direction in your life. the Book of Mormon is the best way to develop faith in Christ. reading it everyday has truly changed my life
i love you all!
Li Jiemei (sister Newman)
Hi Kelli!
ReplyDeleteI miss you guys like crazy! We needed to play a game of kickball the other night but we needed more people, so naturally I said, "Let's call the Newmans! They're always up for kickball probably." I got a whole family full of "that's mean, Mom!!!" and stuff like that, because it just made us sit and think about how you're not gonna play kickball with us.
These letters are awesome--thank you for posting them.
We wrote some letters to missionaries for FHE and Paigee got some but I know not where to send them. Maybe you could put her address on the sidebar or something. Or email it to me? (kimi@farley.net)
That would be scrumptious.
Give hugs to the fam for me! And don't forget yourself--give yourself a nice big hug from me.
Stay cute and fun! See ya next summer!