Sister Syd: Canada Week 25: The blessings will always come!

Hello my beautiful friends and family! The work here in Canada continues on! The restoration of this gospel is a very real and very ongoing process just as President Nelson stated in the last General Conference. Yesterday in our sacrament meeting they announced the creation of a new YSA Stake in Edmonton! It was so amazing to hear those words and it made me so happy!

God provided so many miracles this past week and I feel so grateful to be a part of them! Tuesday night my companion and I had to bus home from our supper. We had a few hours before we actually needed to be home so we decided to go to the Walmart near our appointment and do some contacting! We did meet a couple of people, but it was not as effective as we hoped. We then realized the bus we needed to get home on was coming in five minutes and we needed to get to the bus stop from Walmart so we ran. We got there with a minute to spare...yet the bus never came...it had been delayed and delayed again and delayed again. We had to wait 30 minutes for a bus to come. However, this 30 minute delay opened the door to 4 miracles!!!

The first miracle we got to see was with one of the bus drivers. His name was Ram and he was from India. He noticed my companion and I had similar colored coats and commented that we were twins and then told us he was a twin! We thought that was cool and went to find someone to sit by. Her then said, "Hey, wait - Are you guys sisters?" So we walked back to the front of the bus and began to have a gospel-centered, spirit-focused conversation with him. We were able to share our testimony with him of the plan God has for each of us, and about the immense amount of love He has for all of His children! He then asked if we could take him to church so we got his number! We soon said goodbye and made our way to the next bus where the second miracle happened! We met a girl named Anika. She was the sweetest girl who was also very spiritual but without a direction or religion to follow. We were blessed to talk with her for almost an hour because we were all going to the same place - our neighborhood! She lives right around the corner from us. We were able to talk about what a mission is, what our religion is, and how we came to believe. We also talked about what the spirit is and how we can feel it in our lives and rely on it to guide and direct us and that it can provide us with revelation from God. She was so fascinated with all of it. She then explained that she wanted us to also teach her friend Josh! Our third miracle! We got her Facebook information because she didn't have a number. We gave her our information to give to her friend. It was the craziest thing! The cherry on top was our fourth miracle! His name is Jeremy. While we were having the conversation with Anika, a guy jumped in and said, "I am so sorry to interrupt - I know it's rude - but what are you talking about? It is so fascinating!" Sadly the next bus stop was his so we quickly gave him our card with our number and told him to text us because we would love to explain more. We didn't think much of it and finally got home. Within five minutes of being home we got a text from Jeremy. This was one of the coolest, wildest nights I have been a part of on my mission so far! God truly provides miracles and blessings in our lives exactly when we need them. We are still in contact with all four of them. Sadly we have to pass all of them to other missionaries because they aren't under our stewardship, but how cool is it that my companion and I got to find them and plant the first seed! Now other missionaries will have the awesome opportunity to meet these amazing people and teach them! :)

We were able to have supper with a part-member family in our ward this past week. It was awesome to get to know them and learn of their story. We were also able to do a lot of member and less-active member visits this week. We didn't get into all of their homes we wanted to, but of the ones we did we great. One of them expressed that they were really grateful we stopped by and that they are going to start coming to church in a couple weeks when the son's hockey season is finished. So hopefully we will see them at church soon. It has been amazing to witness that less-active member work and member work is just as important as finding those who aren't part of this gospel yet. My purpose as a missionary is to "invite others" to Come unto Christ - not to just "invite non-members" to come into Christ. Others is all inclusive! Non-members, members and less-active members! It is important to support those who are already members of the church so that they will want to share this amazing gospel with those around them! It is all part of the process and plan.

My life was blessed again with another three day choir performance filled weekend! It was another special experience! I am SO grateful I get to be part of this amazing choir and to feel the love that Heavenly Father has for everyone we share this music with! The spirit is always so strong during the performance and it is so incredible to see it touch the lives of those in attendance.

I want to share a few things I learned in my studies this week. First are some insights I had after listening to a BYU devotional by Brad Wilcox called, "His Grace is Sufficient." My dad shared this talk with his YSA students this past week in a bishopric FHE and he then shared it with me. It was amazing! The biggest lesson I learned was that God's grace is always there for us. "It isn't about filling gaps, it is about filling us!" Christ paid it all! Everyone has the opportunity to be resurrected. We have that chance at ultimate perfection! We are always told that it is through grace, after all we can do, that we are saved. While this is true, grace has been there the whole time. It isn't just something to use when we can't do everything. It is simply something that carries us through. It is the light that guides us through the tunnel, not the light at the end of it. One of my favorite things Wilcox stated is this, "Jesus does not MAKE UP the difference, Jesus makes ALL the difference." I LOVED THIS! Jesus makes all the difference in our lives! Another things that really stood out to me is "Grace is not a finishing touch, but the finishers touch." Trust God. Trust that He knows you, and understands you, and can help you in the exact way that is needed.

I also listened to quite a few of Bruce R. McConkie's talks. One of them was about personal revelation. An idea he stated that stuck out to me was that we can all receive revelation just as the prophet and apostles can. The only difference is they can receive it for the whole church, and we can receive it for ourselves and those we have stewardship over. We all have the same chance at revelation from our Heavenly Father that is perfect for us. It comes most often through the whispering of the Spirit. For me it often comes through people God places in my path. It comes in so many ways. I am so grateful we all have the chance to receive personal revelation for our lives!

I am so grateful for the chance I have to be a part of this amazing work - to see the light of Christ in others and witness how the spirit works by touching the hearts of those around us! I am so grateful for my Savior and His sacrifice for me. I am grateful He knows exactly how to succor me. I hope we can all come to appreciate His love for us!

I hope everyone has a wonderful week full of wonderful opportunities! Trust in God to carry you when times get hard! I testify that He can!

Love, Sister Merrill :)