Hello my beautiful family and friends! I hope everyone is finding ways to smile during the craziness of life right now. My week wasn't as exciting as some, but there was good because God is good, and He will never cease to be good no matter what is happening around us!
This past week we were blessed with member lessons, a few investigator lessons, member referral miracles, farmer's market adventures, jokes, laughs, calls after calls, gratitude, and AMERICAN THANKSGIVING! Covid restrictions continue here in Alberta and strict guidelines are in place. During this time is has been wonderful to video chat with our members and see their bright smiling faces. So many members here have become like family to me since I have served here for so long. I hit 8 months in Drayton Valley yesterday. I am so grateful to have spent so much time here because the members are so amazing. I really love our member lessons - they are just as important in missionary work as anything and anyone else. As a full-time missionary I have learned the importance of member missionaries and working together to strengthen ALL of God's children! It is truly a beautiful thing to witness a person's countenance change when the spirit speaks to them during a lesson - when they hear exactly what they needed to hear. We were also able to have a few lessons with some of the friends we are teaching. Helping others understand the doctrine is a really neat experience no matter how simple your knowledge is. Honestly, the simpler the better, at least for me. I tend to over think, so a simple, powerful testimony is my favorite! It's really easy to get caught up in things we don't know or understand, but I testify as we cling to the powerful things that we do know, like the simple truth of God being our loving Heavenly Father, we can do anything!
Other weekly adventures this week consisted of going to the local farmers market and interacting with people there. One of our friends has a candy table there so we like to go chat with him. He likes selling retro candy and I like seeing his joy in doing this. We also went on some drives while calling members to find Christmas lights. I'm grateful for all the moments of laughter. They are my favorite. A miracle we were blessed with this week was a couple referral we received from one of our members. We were able to talk to them and they are interested in learning more. We hope to start teaching them soon and they said they would come to church next week! :)
This past week was American Thanksgiving and I was so grateful for the opportunity to talk to family and give thanks. I LOVED President Nelson's invitation to flood social media with gratitude. I know it was greatly inspired, and I was grateful our mission president gave us permission to participate in the experience. President Nelson said, "An attitude of gratitude gives us better perspective and more peace of mind and heart." I thought this was wonderful. Choosing to be grateful, and looking for the happy can give us a more hopeful outlook in life. There is still good among the bad, and there is always an opportunity to stay positive! After all, Alma teaches us to live in Thanksgiving daily, for the many mercies and blessings God bestows upon us! (Alma 34:38)
This week I have been thinking a lot about mindset. I remembered a devotional I was a part of in the MTC about having a fixed mindset verses a growth mindset. I have thought about this a lot on my mission as I have studied the Book of Mormon. The more I read about the stories of missionaries in this book, the more I see the difference between their mindsets. Are we fixed on an idea of what things are "supposed" to look like, or do we develop an idea of growth and view things as an opportunity to keep trying and changing? We read again and again that this life is the time to prepare to meet God. We came to this earth to learn and to grow so we aren't doing ourselves any favors by staying in a fixed mindset. It is really hard to not get fixated on everything we CAN'T do right now - especially now with Covid restrictions. I know I am a little guilty of this. It is tricky when we don't get to do missionary work how "we think it should be," but God is teaching us that there are just NEW ways to do things. Right now nothing is the same, things are different, and we are adapting to our "new normal." I know we can develop a growth mindset and look for ways we can be innovative during this crazy time. We can think of new, creative ways to do things we always have done. In some ways, I think this pandemic can be an opportunity for some rapid growth. If we allow God to help us think outside the box, and as we are obedient to the commandments, laws and ordinances we have been given, including abiding by local laws and rules, I know we will be blessed. In a way it shows Heavenly Father we are willing to do what we need to do. We are willing to do what HE wants us to do. Another thing I like to think about as I study mindset is this idea of resilience. At the beginning of each year I choose a word that I want to have an added focus on. Ironically this year I chose the word resilience - a year that has been full of opportunities to choose resilience over road blocks. To choose faith over fear, and embrace the opportunity to grow during set backs instead of looking at them as failures. I am so grateful God has given us the ability to think and choose for ourselves. It is always more profound when we discover things for ourselves rather than just being told. Once again I testify that God is good and He will always help us no matter what!
I am so grateful for this gospel and the blessings it brings into my life. I am grateful for my knowledge of my Heavenly Father and my Savior and older brother, Jesus Christ. They are truly there for us always! God's hand is in our daily lives, especially as we choose to trust in Him. Those who put everything in God's hands will eventually see God's hands in everything.
I love and miss you all! Go find a reason to smile or simply just smile - it will brighten your mood - I promise!
Love, Sister Merrill ♡
Sister Hill and Sister Merrill
Missionary Zoom life
Face mask fun!
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