I love February!!!! =D I love this month almost as much as December,
almost (nothing can compare with caroling). I love it for almost the
same reason; at this time of year, people are focused on loving others
and showing kindness. I know that we shouldn't need an excuse, but I
still appreciate how this month and holiday can help change peoples'
hearts.
Anyway, welcome to the first week of February!
I
have defentively learned more about charity and love this past week and
what it takes to have a good relationship. Personally, I feel like part
of a mission is to help prepare young adults for marriage, because the
same tools that make a marriage successful (such as good comunication,
putting the Lord first, being selfless, stuff like that) is what makes a
companionship successful. I can't remember if I have talked about my
companions recently or not, but this past week we have become a better
team. I feel like our communication is a lot more open which helps us
work together better and with less contention. For example, if one of
them said something that hurts my feelings, I need to recognize that my
feelings were hurt but that she may not have known. So, to prevent
further pain and a potential fight later, I will tell my companion that
what she did or said hurt my feelings so that she can know and we can
talk about it.
Good communcation is hard because you have to
open yourself up to another person and share your thoughts and feelings
in a way you don't naturally do. Despite the difficultness of it, good
communication can make a relationship flourish, even if your
personalities don't necesarily mesh. I have also learned that as I pray
to Heavenly Father for help, He gives me what I need and what my
companions need. I prayed for the chance to see them as He sees them and
now I am more forgiving and understanding. I asked for help in seeing
their strengths and both of my companions are good at pointing at
other's strengths so now I listen closer. I asked for help in getting
over negative feelings and I felt prompted to read my patriarchal
blessing (a special blessing that members of the Church can receive as
they feel prompted that helps guide and strengthen them; see
https://history.lds.org/article/chl-pb?lang=eng#what-is-a-patriarchal-blessing for more information) where I was counseled to act in a specific way.
Basically
this past week has challenged my weakness and helped me to become
stronger. I may not be naturally inclined in the ways of females (say
what you please, but I would much rather hang out with males than
females because I understand males better than females) but I have been
called to serve sisters and to serve with 2 women. The Lord knows what I
need and He has provided a way to give me that experience and help as
long as I'm willing to listen to Him and follow Him. I believe very
strongly in my favorite scripture, Ether 12:27; the Lord gave us
weaknesses so that we may learn to trust Him and so that we may become
better and stronger.
(Also, my weakness can help others' strengths and vice versa; we are all here to help one another)
Okay,
besides learning how to play nice =) I have learned some important
lessons in how to teach others. I am not the teacher; I am merely a tool
for the Master Teacher, the Holy Ghost. He has the responsibilty to
witness the truth of all things and my job is to present the information
in a way that He can do his job. I love the people that I work with, I
care for them so deeply that I become upset when they don't get it, or
they don't keep their commitments, or when they say no. I've been told
that I'm a bit of a cry baby, but honestly I just LOVE these people! I
have been sent here to serve them because I have the specific
experiences, strengths AND weakenesses, and knowledge that the Spirit
needs to help these people the most. When the Spirit leads the lessons,
people come unto Christ.
I can help the Spirit the most by
getting these people to think and to recognize their feelings. I've
learned that I can improve in both aspects by asking better questions. I
think that I have some natural talent in teaching (due to my love of
people and no fear in talking) but I know that I have a lot of room to
improve. This week I will be focusing on asking good questions. And this
isn't a skill just for teaching but also for good communication! (see
the circle I just made? =) ) As we ask good questions, we allow others
to think and to analyze which is needed for good communication and for
helping investigators.
I hope that you can
learn from me and my experiences rather than having to live out some of
the more negative experiences. My hope is that I can help others grow so
that they do not have to make as many mistakes, or at the same
mistakes, I did. If I can help make someone's path brighter and a little
bit straighter, I would be so grateful.
I love you all and I
hope that you're having a great time living. Find joy in the small
things (such as a yummy pop, or how the sun feels, or that you have 10
toes, find something!) and take a breather when you need one. Heavenly
Father loves you; remember who you are.
Have a great week! I love you!
Hermana Lindh
Pictures of a castle tour.
