"The Lord Loves Effort!"
First of all, conference was the BEST!! & we have now joined everybody else in basically full lockdown, our mission President called us yesterday morning and said we now have to stay in our apartment except we can leave twice a day for a few minutes of exercise. As far as being in our apartment we have found great ways to entertain ourselves. The Elders "gave" us a mini pool table which has been quite enjoyable. We also moved our table right in front of the window so we can watch outside as we eat and it's basically like watching the discovery channel with all the wildlife out here. One night there was 4 squirrels, 2 birds, and a rabbit and I honestly REALLY enjoyed it!!
It has honestly been an amazing week, general conference lived up to every ridiculously high expectation I had. Somehow Sister West and I are still really enjoying ourselves and the work even though it's hard to feel effective often times. I know Heavenly Father is blessing us with feeling such great joy at this crazy time. Honestly at the beginning of this whole craziness I was kind of upset because I was thinking about how much of my mission I felt like would be wasted, but I was completely wrong. There's many specific reasons this is all happening, reasons varying per person I'm sure. I am so so grateful at this time to be here, it truly is the best time to be here, we have been so blessed for the efforts we have been able to make from inside. Just like Joy D. Jones said, "the Lord loves effort!" I was so grateful for conference and I truly felt the spirit specifically strongly when we were singing I Know that my Redeemer Lives in the last session. There was so much power during that song. Thousands and thousands of people of so many different backgrounds and languages from all around the world all testifying of their knowledge that they know their Redeemer lives, at the same time was indescribable. I felt a small piece of the joy Heavenly Father must have felt in that moment.
One of my favorite things said in conference was, "as we become more like Him, we will feel at home in His house, and He will feel at home in ours." I don't know about you but I would love it if Christ felt at home in my home. I loved this at this specific time because all of us are spending a bit more time in our homes, what better time than now to focus on making Christ the center of our home? As well as doing anything we can do to become like Him so we can be closer to Him and allow him to feel at home in our homes.
We were on a video call with the sweetest woman last night, she asked us if we could pray with her and we did. Right after we finished she asked us if she could pray for us as well so of course we said yes! She offered a very sweet and heartfelt prayer and simply said, "Dear God please bless Sister West and Sister Hollist with a million blessings, amen." I loved that and I was so grateful for her kindness and love. Kentuckians are the greatest.
I love you all and happy early Easter!! Thank goodness for this time that we have to focus on everything the Savior has done for us! Oh, and also don't forget about the Prophet's special invitation to fast and pray on good Friday, April 10th. It'll be an amazing experience!!
It has honestly been an amazing week, general conference lived up to every ridiculously high expectation I had. Somehow Sister West and I are still really enjoying ourselves and the work even though it's hard to feel effective often times. I know Heavenly Father is blessing us with feeling such great joy at this crazy time. Honestly at the beginning of this whole craziness I was kind of upset because I was thinking about how much of my mission I felt like would be wasted, but I was completely wrong. There's many specific reasons this is all happening, reasons varying per person I'm sure. I am so so grateful at this time to be here, it truly is the best time to be here, we have been so blessed for the efforts we have been able to make from inside. Just like Joy D. Jones said, "the Lord loves effort!" I was so grateful for conference and I truly felt the spirit specifically strongly when we were singing I Know that my Redeemer Lives in the last session. There was so much power during that song. Thousands and thousands of people of so many different backgrounds and languages from all around the world all testifying of their knowledge that they know their Redeemer lives, at the same time was indescribable. I felt a small piece of the joy Heavenly Father must have felt in that moment.
One of my favorite things said in conference was, "as we become more like Him, we will feel at home in His house, and He will feel at home in ours." I don't know about you but I would love it if Christ felt at home in my home. I loved this at this specific time because all of us are spending a bit more time in our homes, what better time than now to focus on making Christ the center of our home? As well as doing anything we can do to become like Him so we can be closer to Him and allow him to feel at home in our homes.
We were on a video call with the sweetest woman last night, she asked us if we could pray with her and we did. Right after we finished she asked us if she could pray for us as well so of course we said yes! She offered a very sweet and heartfelt prayer and simply said, "Dear God please bless Sister West and Sister Hollist with a million blessings, amen." I loved that and I was so grateful for her kindness and love. Kentuckians are the greatest.
I love you all and happy early Easter!! Thank goodness for this time that we have to focus on everything the Savior has done for us! Oh, and also don't forget about the Prophet's special invitation to fast and pray on good Friday, April 10th. It'll be an amazing experience!!
