When I am on the Lord's errand, I miraculously have strength and energy!

From Tuesday, 8 April 2014

D's Baptism on Sunday after Conference!

Dear family,

This week was crazy! We were in the temple two days, ran around like crazy chickens with our heads cut off the rest of the time, watched general conference, had a baptism...

Yep, D got baptized! Right after the first session of general conference. It was so happy! The plug in the font somehow got dislodged which made his baptism a bit like a very important game of limbo getting him all the way under the water, but they managed somehow! David is awesome. He was so ready to be baptized. His parents were baptized in February, and they call us (and the last few Sister missionaries who taught them) their 'sobrinas,' or nieces. So David is our 'primito.' little cousin, now :) 

So this week I've had a little bit of a cold. Thursday was a sore throat, Friday was lots of sniffles and sudafed while working in the tent at the temple, and Saturday was dead tired. I slept a little before general conference at noon but was not sure I could handle going out to work between sessions. But go we did! And I amazingly felt better. The same pattern has followed the last few days. When I am on my own time I feel sick. But when I am on the Lord's errand I miraculously have the strength and energy I need to see me through, to show His love to His children and help them progress along the path to Him.

General conference has been a blast. I particularly liked part of Elder Nelson's talk. He mentioned the importance of not compartmentalizing ourselves. I like to think of it this way: rather than just putting myself into missionary mode, I have to become a missionary. And in our lives, rather than just putting on disciple mode for a while, we need to become disciples of Jesus Christ. 

I also liked President Eyring's message that we hold in our hands the happiness of more people than we can imagine. Our smallest choices can make an impact. So we have to choose then what kind of impact they will make! Will we be an example of good? Will we make, keep, and honor and magnify covenants? Will we stand strong against all obstacles, temptations, and challenges? Or will we cave in? It matters. 

I loved Elder Rasband's comment that focusing on serving others can guide us to make divine decisions in our daily lives. Elder Corbridge's Restoration talk was masterful. Sister Reeves is a boss. Elder Walker (who we saw last week!) inspired me to learn more about my pioneer ancestors. President Uchtdorf opened my eyes to the connection between gratitude and humility and consecration. Elder Scott answered all the questions I didn't know I had about helping others to learn and grow. And President Monson tied it all together with love and the resolve to be a little better. I loved it so much!

In other news, I LOVED working in the reception tent at the temple yesterday. Sign me up for that every day! So many people who had earnest, honest questions. And the Spirit was so strong that even the one Bible basher who tried to convince me of the error of my ways had to leave defeated after only a few minutes. It was amazing how easily everything came. Everything was natural and personal. We weren't 'proselyting,' but  we were using our testimonies nonetheless. 

Anyway... I learned a lot in the Book of Mormon this week as well. One thing that struck me while reading Mosiah 2 in Spanish was the wording in verse 11. The literal translation is that King Benjamin served his people with all the might, mind, and strength which the Lord conceded unto him. It was a reminder to me that the Lord gives us all that strength which He asks us to use to serve His children. As we truly give all back to Him, we bless others, we show our gratitude to God, and we bring ourselves to salvation. It's like the widow's mite - sometimes it's not much, but if it's our all it's enough.

Well, I love you all a lot. Have a happy week!

Hermana Houghton