Sister Anna Meredith: "You can be glad!" (October 23, 2017)

Proud to serve

Wow what a week. It has been really good and really busy. Full of miracles as well as disappointments.

So it's been hard. One of our really solid investigators, who was coming to church, and progressing towards a baptismal date, told her pastor that she was going to get baptized in our church, and he led her some anti-information, and she has completely turned around and changed her mind. She still wants us to come visit, but wants solid answers, which we really don't have. It was really sad, and really hard. But it ended up being a good experience, because it helped me realize how much my testimony of the Book of Mormon and the Restoration have grown in my time serving as a missionary.

It has been really cool to see how much George has changed. He really seems like a different person now, and reading in the Book of Mormon and coming to church has made him so much happier and it's been amazing to see that the gospel really does change people's lives for the better. And amid everything else, that's why we're here. To spread joy.

So cool story, we got mailed our new car registration this week, and we were staying in two members houses at once, long story, and amid moving and the craziness I managed to misplace the envelope. I was really freaked out, and we were looking everywhere. I was praying, and asking for help to find it, and immediately I had a thought come to my mind that it was in my Spanish book. I went upstairs, opened my book, and there it was. It was incredible, and the Holy Ghost can do all things. And it was a really little thing, but we knew it was an answer to our prayers.

On Wednesday, it was a really, really long day. We had a bunch of appointments fall through, and we were out knocking at 8:15.3 people in a row got mad at us, saying it was much too late to be outside trying to talk to people, and I was so ready to give up, and I said "Ok Heavenly Father, one more door" So we did, it was a woman we had met a few weeks ago, and had told us she was too busy and to come back later. We knocked, and she came to the door, and we said hi, and started to talk to her, and she said "Come in!" And was really excited to see us and that we had come back, and we shared the restoration with her and she committed to read the Book of Mormon, and it was a great lesson. And I am very glad that we kept going, even when it was difficult.

Fun fact, there is a ladybug problem happening in Minnesota. Well they look like ladybugs, but they're actually Japanese beetles or something. And they're everywhere. In our car. In everyone's houses. Everywhere.

I am so so grateful for the opportunity to be a missionary here in the beautiful land of Minnesota. We went on a nature walk this morning and watched the sunrise across a lake, and I am so grateful for this beautiful world that we live in. Yesterday in Relief Society, we talked a lot about President Uchtdorf's talk from Women's conference, and I really liked something we read:

"There may be many things about life that are beyond your control. But in the end, you have the power to choose both your destination and many of your experiences along the way. It is not so much your abilities but your choices that make the difference in life. You cannot allow circumstances to make you sad. You cannot allow them to make you mad. You can rejoice that you are a daughter of God. You can find joy and happiness in the grace of God and in the love of Jesus Christ. You can be glad."

There is so much in our life that we can't control, and I feel like especially as a missionary, it's really easy for me to fall into a trap that how I feel depends on the actions of those we are teaching and working with. But I have learned a lot about not letting disappointment get the best of you, and being happy when there is and when there isn't success. Through Christ and his gospel, we can choose joy and gladness. What a wonderful world we live in.

Thank you for all the love and support!

Have a lovely week:)