Monday, June 27, 2016

#westernSydneylife

Bonjour family & friends!

Life is great. Life is sometimes hard. Life is sometimes surreal. Life is sometimes really slow, but mostly way to quick. I love it.

I just want to testify of how precious this time is. Something we are encouraged to do as missionaries is account to the Lord the events of each day in prayer. To tell Someone who already knows exactly what we did all day (and how our decisions will ripple through this life and the next for that matter) what we have done. At the beginning of my mission, I wondered why I needed to tell Heavenly Father something He already knew. But as I have accounted to the Lord for my actions each day, I have developed a deep gratitude and respect for this opportunity. I have experienced how the Lord has shown me His hand, how He has helped me to repent, how He has encouraged me for the good I've done and brought to light where I could have improved.

This is my invitation to all of you. Account to the Lord the events of your day. How did you use the time you were given? I know that as we do this, making good choices will become even more appealing. I look forward to the time I have to talk to my Heavenly Father about my day. To receive His guidance, His help, and to feel His love. Please just savor the time that you have to spend with Him. Just feel the warmth of His love and renew your testimony that the Father of our Spirits really does hang on our every word as we pray. I love Him. And I know He loves us.
 
WEEKLY HIGHLIGHTS!

-trade offs! with Sister Uitu and Sister Casperson. These sisters are both fantastic. Sister Uitu and I visited Samoan families and tried to improve our finding skills. We learned so much, especially about following the spirit. Sister Casperson and I were happy even when all our plans fell through. We found two miracle people! I had so much fun with these sisters this week. 

-Sister Vaiho and I are slowly becoming an old married couple who can finish each other's sentences and read each other's minds hahaha.

-There was such a sweet moment this week. Sister Casperson and I just came out of a great lessons and the Baulkham Hills sisters asked us to pick them up from the chapel. We went to go get them, and as they came out of the chapel they ran and hugged us. They were shouting "Peter is getting baptized!!!" Their investigator accepted a baptismal date. We were excited all the way home, and then we went inside and told Sister Vaiho (who had previously taught Peter and absolutely loves him) and Sister Wilson. They started jumping and dancing and we were all so happy. Being a missionary is the best. 

Sister Vaiho, Casperson, Wilson & Froemming



-I gave a talk on Sunday about service. :) 

-This week Sister Vaiho and I went to visit an elderly man in our ward (93 years old) who has been sick lately and unable to come to church. He is so sweet. When we entered into his little unit, he sat in a red sweater with his big scriptures open. We talked a little bit about life and the Gospel. He expressed His desire to be with his wife who has passed away again. The spirit was so strong. Before we left, this sweet man, concerned for us, insisted that we take 3 cans of soup because he wanted to feed us. For some reason this act of kindness absolutely touched our hearts. We burst into tears as we left his tiny home with 3 cans of soup. 

-Sister Tuala has a French/Tahitian hymn book. We decided to sing a Tahitian hymn for Sister Vaiho and she loved it. Then we tried to sing the same hymn in French and we were crying laughing because it was so bad. "You literally did not say one word I understood" -SV #FrenchIs2Fancy


-This morning, Sister Vaiho and I were able to take the lovely Sister Denny to her new area in the CITY! Her companion is going home mid transfer and so she came down from Coff's Harbour (which is like 7 hours north of the city) early. It was so cool to drive her through this beautiful place and see how excited she was. Missionary life is the best!

-I'm falling in love with the Winston Hills ward. I love the people here and I love the work ethic and vision this ward has. Also the stake is amazing. We had a meeting with President Checketts and some of the stake leaders and it was incredible. President's counsel was inspired and the stake has excitedly embraced it. We're not creating programs, we're developing a culture of devoted service. WOW! 

I hope you all are happy. There are heaps of reasons to be stressed or sad or dissatisfied. But what good does feeling that way do any of us? We're all going to struggle. We're all going to have hard times. Why not try smiling? We have to endure to the end anyway, why not enjoy the journey? There is so much more to happy for. 

Have a great week!
Je t'aime,
SF





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