My googleable question this week is:
IS JB A CRIMINAL? TRUE OR FALSE
Okay
I heard that Justin Bieber went to jail and I just need to know if
that's true. It's crazy being out of touch with the annoying fake and
meaningless world of celebrities.
And I cannot say thank you enough but I will try...
THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK
YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!
And okay, I copied and pasted those but only because
I have limited time here- but THANK YOU for all the packages and
presents and cards and love! I cried as I opened things because I was
not expecting to get much for my birthday, but I got so many lovely
things and am still so excited to be officially and adult now. Yes, I am
20 years old and I got a shark mug, a unicorn coloring book, a
spongebob stuffed animal, Black Pride stamps, and pictures of cupcakes
drawn by the Mower cousins. (: And many other fun things and useful
things and things that made me smile and run in circles. It was a great
birthday and also a sad time because it was my last day with Sister
Garcia. I was glad I could still spend my birthday with her though, and
she was glad when it was finally over so she could be done with all the
birthday excitement that I was exploding with.
I am having a great time getting to know Sister Panoussi. She's
sweet and a soft spoken, so I'll have to break her in a bit. But she
laughs at my jokes (once I explain them), so that's all I can ask for. I
know the area a lot better than I thought I did (thank goodness!) but
we have still made many a U-turn this week. Sister Panoussi is the first
person I've met on my mission who has actually read JM Barrie's Peter
Pan and I think I screamed when I found out. She has two sisters back at
home in... YOU GUESSED IT: SLC, UT. God thinks it's funny to give me
these Utah girls, I think he's trying to knock the Utah-Racism out of
me. I am trying to repent for all the times I've mocked Utah's
citizens.
The most spiritual experience this week was a lesson with our
recently baptized member. She came back from being out of town for a few
days. She had gone to visit her son in jail and give him a copy of the
Book of Mormon. He declined, but she said she would send it anyways, she
bore her testimony on it's truthfulness and then asked him to please
pray before throwing it out.
Anyway, the best thing this week was when she told us about her studies.
She was sitting in her large armchair, flipping through her scriptures, excited to share what she had found.
"This
week I read a book called Enos," She flipped through pages, and stopped
on Enos. She got quiet and very reverent. "This verse really touched
me."
2 And I will tell you of the wrestle which I had before God, before I received a remission of my sins.
Her voice choked as she read over the words "... my soul
hungered...". Tears streamed down her face, and I knew instantly why
this meant so much to her. I remembered her first few lessons. Hungered
is the only word for it. Earlier she had said about her son in jail, "I
feel like I need to share this. Because I went without it for so long. I
wandered for so long, and this is what I was looking for. I can't let
others go without it."
She told us how she knew perfectly how Enos felt. She knows what
its like to have a hungry soul. She knows what it's like to kneel down
and pour out your heart to the Lord. And then she relayed to us the
feelings she felt when she first prayed about the Book of Mormon.
"Peace came over me." She said, tears still falling.
I
cannot believe how much I have taken for granted the peace that the
gospel brings. I can't imagine hungering for it. I can't imagine the
wrestle, the hunger, the mighty prayer. Or what it must have felt like
for the first time to know the truth. But this is it. And we have it.
And we should have that same conviction that she has to share it.
Because this is the truth. And this has blessed each of our lives with
peace that sometimes we don't even realize. This is why I'm out
here. Why I left the joyous chaos of home. Why I left behind the friends
who I miss so dearly and cry over and pray for every night. Because
this work is so worth it. Because even just one soul can bring so much
joy. Both to the missionary and to the receiver.
I am grateful to be a part of this great work.
I miss you all,
I'm halfway home by now,
and it will all be over way to soon.
I love you.
- Sister Valdez
The pictures are of my birthday madness
and one of Panoussi intently reading directions to the reservation.
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