Till We Meet Again

Signed, sealed, delivered......Sis E & I are homies for at least 6 more weeks! We were both a little sad, as we are ready to spread our wings and grow in different areas with different companions but, our love for each other may be so strong that our bond just wasn't ready to be broken yet ;)

 

It's SUPER cold and I miss the AZ sun like mad! We go weekly to lay in the tanning bed....a brownie tanning, crazy right?! We need the vitamin D it gives us.....I'm sure this is a touchy subject with some - slow your roll....it's not very often and this chicken little ain't seen NO real sun in a while! Sis E makes Casper look tan!

 

I had this whole "thing" typed up to send....maybe another day - after getting the video of Piper trying to sing "Till We Meet Again" I thought about the words of that hymn, sang them, thought about the many times they've touched my life.....

 

God be with you till we meet again;
By his counsels guide, uphold you;
With his sheep securely fold you.
God be with you till we meet again

 

God be with you till we meet again;
When life's perils thick confound you,
Put his arms unfailing round you.
God be with you till we meet again

 

God be with you till we meet again;
Keep love's banner floating o'er you;
Smite death's threat'ning wave before you.
God be with you till we meet again.

 

[Chorus]
Till we meet, till we meet,
Till we meet at Jesus' feet,
Till we meet, till we meet,
God be with you till we meet again

 

Sometimes words are just words, we sing them, say them, recite them and leave them there hanging in the air as a faceless, lifeless form to be picked up and reused when next we need them.

These words....Till we meet, Till we meet at Jesus' feet, God be with you till we meet again....they are so much more than just words...

 

When is again, after breakfast? After school? After vacation? After my mission? After this life?  Till we meet again....at first they brought me sorrow as I thought of my grandfather and then I was instantly filled with joy, as I thought of him...it's not goodbye, it really is until we meet again...the unending blessing of knowing that no matter the context as long as I live as my Father has asked me to.....it will always be "Till we meet again!"  I am so grateful for Eternal Families! My lesson this week is, live like there's no tomorrow so when we are at our judgment day we can receive the many blessings we have been promised, if we have followed our Heavenly Fathers plan. Do not put off repentance, do not put off church attendance, do not postpone scripture study, do not hold out forgiveness - do today what you have left undone, we are not promised tomorrow to set our course straight....

 

Family and Friends I love you all and pray for you daily. Don't forget about me, Till we meet again!

 

XOXO

 Sis Z

 

Eat what you can - Cann what you can't!

This past week has been such a blur. Sister Eggleston and I have been so
busy saving souls, crying out repentance, serving our fellow beings,
and using the Urim and Thummim to better understand why keeping
commitments are so difficult! On more than one occasion I feel asleep
in my full proselyting attire... Name tag on Book of Mormon in hand...
The whole nine... Some might say "wow sister z, you are indeed
anxiously engaged in the work..." But in reality changing into my
everyday sweats requires to much movement and to be quite honest...

This sista doesn't have time for that :)

Yesterday, before Sacrament started, I watched as the Chapel filled. I

looked into each of the faces of the people I serve, teach, and know.

I thought to myself...look.. Look what you are apart of. The people in

Bend, OR mean so much to me, I think more than I realize. It's so

amazing!

I remember serving with Sister Redd... I remember thinking she knew

everything about everything... I worshiped she ground she walked on.

It was so easy for her to talk to people, she was so inspired all the

time, and she always knew what to say. I remember thinking I hope when

I train a new missionary, that she will look to me as I did Sister

Redd. I wanted to live in such a way, testify in such away, and teach

in such away, that my trainee would look to me as an example just as I

did. I never thought I would be someone to look up to. After a really

good conversation with sister e.... I realized that the person she

looked up to was me. It was so weird. I love her!

The Chaotic Madness of My Mission: the past week has consisted of.... 

A zone conference

2 amazing member presented lessons with investigators

2 investigators at sacrament

Learning new motto - Eat what you can - cann what you can't! <---- LOVE IT

Discovering a fairly large hang mole (seriously what the heck? I go on a mission only to be turned into a leper???)

Had my face compared to the Rocky Mountains... Brown and bumpy :(

Realizing that I will NEVER live where day lights savings exists

Waxing a car...having no clue that waxing cars was something people actually "do"

Belting "who let the dogs out"... while walking to small pooches

Making more Dutch cards.

My lesson for this week is a part of the talk I am preparing:

I have heard stories about a seminary teacher that my aunts, uncles and my mother had growing up....I wish I had that one teacher whose stories and lessons stuck with me all these years later but, sadly I didn't so, I'm going to borrow one I've heard so many times I feel it must be one of my own by now....this seminary teacher whom we'll call "Bro Judd" since that is his name (ha ha) told the story of the camel in the sand storm...

As a master and his camel made their way across the dessert a furious sand storm approached, the master set his small tent next to his camel and climbed inside to protect himself from the beating sand - soon after zipping the tent, the camel beckoned...master may I please put my nose in your tent? the sand is whipping wildly and I have no way to protect my nose from it...the master said "but, my tent is so small that barely myself fits inside"...the camel replied "master, it is only my nose and nothing more" the master unzipped the tent and the camel stuck his nose inside, thanking his maser for his kindness...moments after the camel spoke again "Master I am so grateful I was able to protect my nose but now my eyes look directly into the heart of the storm, I cannot keep the sand from them and I fear I will not be able to continue on our journey if I am unable to see!" The master fearful he would be stranded relented and allowed the camels entire head into the tent...."Master you are too gracious, I am blessed to have you, thank you for sharing your small space with me." The master was so happy to hear his camels gratitude, squeezed ever smaller into the corner of the tent. "Master the wind is stronger than any other storm we have faced, the sand bites and pulls at my front legs and I fear I will not be able to carry you home to your family if I cannot protect them from this storm." The master anguished, where was the camel to put his legs, there was little room for them now, however would he fit? The master ever sorrowed for the pain his camel must be enduring and so grateful for his concern about returning his master home replied "Camel yes you may put your front legs in the tent but nothing more, we haven't the room for another hair in here." The camel thanked his master over and over as he inched his legs in, they moved about intertwined in one another, packed so tightly neither could move. "Master the storm rages stronger and the wind seems right upon us, my back legs cannot bare the torment of the sand for another minute, please may I put my entire body in the tent?" The master said "camel I will not be able to fit inside my tent if your entire body is in here, where shall I go?" The camel calmly said "Master I have carried you all this way and will carry you to your family at the storms end, please step outside for just a moment so my legs can have safety from the storm, only for a moment, what can it hurt?"

The master grateful for his camels service stepped out of his tent, so the camel may have a short reprieve from the storm....after some time the master spoke "Camel it is time that I return to my tent, I have no cloak to cover me and the sand is tearing at my skin, you are built to be able to handle this type of storm unharmed, I am not and will not survive much longer!" The camel replied " master only a fool would go willingly into a storm, I have found my shelter, it is best if you leave me now and find your own!"

What's the moral? Everyone who knocks at your door ain't your friend? Sometimes the best help we can give others, is insisting they help themselves. And if you can't handle the pressure or the whinnying from the camel next door....MOVE YOUR TENT!

As members of the church we have been blessed with the power of the Holy Ghost, the still small voice that says "seriously, you're going to give your tent to the freaking camel?!"

I remember being little and starting to do something well...not exactly "right" and I would stop and in the quiet...listen, I would try to listen inside myself and if a "small voice" didn't say...."what the snapdragon?! DO NOT DO THAT!?" Then obviously the Holy Ghost did not think it was that bad of an idea and thus I had his blessing :)

The voice isn't always a voice...some mothers have said, they have heard a voice say 'Go check your child!" They have heard the words, don't or look or stop....heard a voice that spoke to them! So, if he's not speaking then I have a green light...got it!! (Ha ha) NO!

The Holy Ghost is not always so bold, it can be a feeling, a notion, a thought...President Ezra Taft Benson said "You cannot do wrong and feel right. It's impossible!" That's the Holy Ghost, the one saying yep you drank the sprite and left the bottle in the buggy without paying for it and although no one but you and the Lord know about it....you feel like pooh because it's wrong! If we are always waiting for a slap in the face or a YELL, and pushing forward if they don't come....then we will eventuality end up with a camel in our tent!

I have heard rumors that "someone" (TOMMIE) borrowed portions of my talk to use for her lesson Sunday....um there will be payment collected for that later!

I miss you all and love you way beyond my ability to tell you! Everyday I am reminded just how extremely awesome my family is!

 Sister Z

Church is a hospital for Sinners NOT a resting place for Saints!

It's snowing, like cold white powder everywhere! Funny how much the weather rules our lives as missionaries. I'm still in Bend, Sis E is still my companion and I'm pretty sure she is the most completely innocent person I have ever known....she makes Snow White look tarnished! 

Apparently people think sister missionaries can't listen to any music EVER, can't walk around our house barefoot, know everything about everything, and think that we have isolated ourselves from the word fun. But in reality we catdaddy to Efy ballads, we don't walk around our house...we fly! We are pretty confident the primary children know more than we do, and we have way to much fun beat boxing and free styling! We are everyday normal daughters of our Heavenly Father, who loves us and we Love him! 

Which brings me to my lesson this week, don't let others dictate who you are!

We are all children of our Heavenly Father, perfect in his eyes. We are not the choices of our past, we are not our failures, we are not our bank account, we are not the whispers behind us or the stories told about us....we are our Fathers children, created in his likeness, all flawed and broken and still he loves us! Never let another's inability to see you as the unique person you are, dictate who you see in the mirror. 

Don't let the darkness in, don't give in to the sadness! If you feel lost turn to our Lord. Never question if he hears you, if it's strength your prayers are for and you feel he has not answered you....it is not he who is not listening to you, it is you not having faith in the strength he has already blessed you with.

Life is a series of ups and downs...if you're up hold tight the down is coming, each more powerful than the last....if you're down keep hold of the rod and weather the storm, I promise you, up is coming! Sadly this world is filled with those who love to see others down, who thrive on another's pain...if I have learned anything these past 5 months it is that if I let others dictate my happiness, my happiness will never come. No one can make you happy or make you sad - it's your choice in how you let another affect you, chose wisely! 

Psalms 56:11

in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.

    What can man do to me?

Put your faith in our Heavenly Father, he will never leave you.

My district leader said "Church is a hospital for Sinners NOT a resting place for Saints!"

Could be one of the best lines ever!!!

Mom seriously the package was the Best one ever!!!! I love it! 

Don't forget about the missionaries, feed them, let them teach you, send their mom a text saying how awesome they are, bake them brownies...they always need extra love! 

Sis E & I are best dressed! No there was not actually an awards ceremony but if or when they implement one, we got this! 

Things I miss:

~Naps

~Netflix 

~Watching movies in mommys bed

~Hearing Micks drama

~Laughing at Granny's jokes

~Eating wings with daddy

~I miss daddy's gun collection! (I know The Lord will protect me but, still my only line of defense is the can opener! Ain't nobody trying to be on Nancy Grace!)

Things I've learned:

Snail mail is Awesome!

I CAN survive without technology but, I don't want to!

Getting up on time is essential! I lack some essentials ;)

I love myself! Completely! 

I love you all! Don't forget about me!