Knowledge is Power - 1-24-22

 Wowza this week felt pretty long! Probably because our last pday was more than a week ago, but anywho….

Let me first start off by saying that last Saturday at the temple was amazing!! The sealing and the promises made in that room were beautiful. Not only that, but the temple just has a way of clearing my head and giving me the peace I need. I was able to step back and readjust my actions, deeds, purpose, and desire to align myself closer to God. This was such a great experience to have, especially since we had a lesson with Liu about temples this week and we were able to share our recent experience with a temple so close to where she lives. #blessings

We have done a lot of service this week which I absolutely love, but this week has been hard in the aspect of teaching. Three of our friends this week have been sick either with Covid or some cold so we’ve had to postpone lessons. Yes, we would do them through Zoom, but we asked and they would prefer not to, which is absolutely understandable. Although it's been rough, it’s given us time to really focus on meeting more people. So again #blessings?

Truly we try to make the best out of the situations and obstacles that we face and try to find the blessings that come with them. I think that's all God asks of us sometimes. 

And now to the stuff that I really wanted to talk about, which is what I learned this week. In all reality, this is something that I’ve been pondering for a few weeks since I’ve come on my mission but that’s beside the point. What has really stuck out to me this week was focusing on becoming more like Christ in the intellectual aspect. Even out here on my mission, I am surrounded by so many resources that can help me come closer to Christ. The scriptures, Come Follow Me, conference talks, church magazines, testimonies of others, institute and seminary handbooks, and the list goes on and on. This past week I’ve just been so excited to look through all these things and to learn. One scripture that I absolutely love that kind of started this pondering process was:

Doctrine and Covenants 84:85 Neither take ye thought beforehand what ye shall say: but treasure up in your minds continually the words of life, and it shall be given you in the very hour that portion that shall be meted unto every man. 

And I know that this is how Jesus Christ taught. He was able to teach because He had first learned. He was constantly learning, pondering, and connecting things to the gospel. We can all become perfect teachers like Christ too. That is His plan for us, He wants us to become like Him in every way. That includes His intelligence and His understanding of everything. This scripture almost (but not quite)makes me excited for college after my mission because I now more fully understand the divinity of learning. 

Anyway, I guess what I wanted to get across to yall in writing about this is to be grateful for all the resources and tools that allow you to brighten your understanding about the gospel. Show that gratitude by anxiously learning and feasting upon the words of Christ. Also, go out and learn more about the things that you love and be excited about it. Learning was meant to be a gift not a chore :) 

I don't know if anyone really cares but it bugs me every once in a while because I'm sometimes a stickler for these things, but if anyone has noticed that my grammar and sentence structure isn't the best, I apologize. I've prioritized saving time over making my emails perfect so you'll have to live with it hehe

Pics from the week:

-a very high quality pic of us at the temple

-cute Raelynn drew a pic of me

- at the Food Bank!

- Sister Hargrove made us matching ear and hand warmers

- me and the fam last pday

- we were matching hehe

- Foodbank pt. 2

Plot Twist, today is my P day - 1-15-22

 It was a very normal week for me and Sister Lunt. We've been busy each day. If you don't know, every companionship gets one sim card, and I've officially had the sim card for a week. It's lowkey stressful, but I'm guessing God knew I wasn't good with technology so this is Him helping me learn. Anyway, our friends are progressing, although there hasnt been any monumental steps this week. Contacting people has kind of been hard because so many people have either been exposed to Covid or have tested positive, but were doing the best with the situation we've been given. Also, about half of the missionaries in our zone have gotten sick, so we're trying to be very cautious about staying healthy and safe. 

Anyway, this email today is going to be pretty short because having my Pday today was kind of a surprise and I didn't have time to mentally prepare myself to write a big one. The reason our Pday is today is because we were invited to a sealing at the temple! The Hargroves are a new couple in our ward and we had just gone over to their house for dinner when they invited us to this sacred and special event. Sister Lunt and I were so happy and excited!! That's happening later tonight so you'll have to wait for pictures until next pday. 

Here are some pictures to make up for how short this email is:

Mia did my hair, there was a video but I don't know how to send those

- working out

-raking leaves, a very tedious job

Scripture study on the floor

- wow big truck, so of course we stopped to take a picture with it 

A long pday email yay! - 1/10/22

Mission email from 1/10/22

 For a short version, skip to the pics lol

First things first, I got a new companion. Her name is Sister Lunt. She's awesome! We vibe and work really well together. She's and artist among many other things, but I think that's so cool. 

This week was totally tubular!! Our friend Liu is well on her way to baptism. This week we had lesson 2 and 3 with her and she loves it and has such a strong testimony already. 

We were able to meet with our other friend this week so that Richards could say goodbye, but our four other plans to have our friend meet Sister Lunt sadly fell through. I have hope that this coming week, Sister Lunt will actually get to meet her!!

Anyway, something really cool happened this week. We got a call from one of our members asking if we could come over and do some service. Well, we got over there and I was just looking at all the family pictures when I see a picture of a family that I grew up with in my ward!! What are the odds of that? But then it gets even crazier! Apparently, the Ottesons, the people I've been helping move, are also related to the people in my ward! That's just crazy to me! There's no doubt in my mind though that God had a plan for this to happen, and I'm so thankful for that. 

This week, I've been reading conference talks about the Atonement. For the sake of time and energy, I'm just going to paste twonquotes that stood out to me.

"Years ago I read these words of President Spencer W. Kimball, which had a lasting impact on me. He said: “I have learned that where there is a prayerful heart, a hungering after righteousness, a forsaking of sins, and obedience to the commandments of God, the Lord pours out more and more light until there is finally power to pierce the heavenly veil. ... A person of such righteousness has the priceless promise that one day he shall see the Lord’s face and know that he is.”

"The atoning sacrifice of the Savior is what makes perfection or sanctification possible. We could never do it on our own, but God’s grace is sufficient to help us. As Elder David A. Bednar once observed: “Most of us clearly understand that the Atonement is for sinners. I am not so sure, however, that we know and understand that the Atonement is also for saints—for good men and women who are obedient, worthy, and conscientious and who are striving to become better.”

- Larry R. Lawrence, October 2015

The Atonement of Jesus Christ is everything. All of us need it. I invite yall to study the Atonement and find a way to apply it into your daily lives. 

I love yall 

Sister Masina

Pics:

-me and Sister Lunt my new comp

-me and Sister Lunt once again

- Sister Otteson, someone whose extended family was in my childhood ward but also someone I've been helping move

- last P-day I got to talk to my cousin, whose also on a mission, through the phone! 

-our cat Daisy is camera shy

-pic with Geraldine, the duck in our car. Doing duck face in her honour

Richards is leaving me :( 1-3-22

 Ahhhh OK I'll share the sad news first. Sister Richards, my trainer, is leaving me to become a Sister Training Leader. Luckily, she's not going far, she'll be my STL :)  Richards first greenie will actually become my new trainer so thats fun. Her name is Sister Lunt. 

Other than that plot twist, which neither Sister Richards or I was expecting, the week was pretty good. There is a huge need for strengthening our congregation and making sure the new people feel included and loved. So we focused a lot on that knowing that this would not only be good for our ward, but would help our investigating friends feel the spirit more when we invite them to church and church activities. We've finally been able to teach Cora on a more consistent basis. Her daughter named Joy had been super sick the past couple of days but she's feeling better so we can go over now. We're also teaching a cute 12 year old named Liu, she is so ready to get baptized already. 

New Years was fun! We had a little party with some people in our zone, but of course because we have curfews, we all went to our own homes and just face timed for actual New Years. Sister Richards and I made oreo truffles which were super yummy. 

Spiritual thought: 

There's a talk called "poor little ones" from April 2021 conference that I read this week. With everything currently going on, this is what I got from it. We are all part of the body of Christ. Being so, we are all different parts. One person might be an eye while another might be a foot. An eye can't do the job of a foot just as a foot can't do the job of an eye. We all have a unique purpose and way to help the body of Christ that strengthens all of us as a whole. Sometimes, we feel bad for not being like someone else. Maybe we don't feel like we have a strong enough testimony or we don't give talks as well as someone else. But we have to remember that we all have our own strengths that are seriously necessary for our wards or families etc. They need you much more than you know. God's plan for you is bigger than you know. I know that as we are brave and we share our testimonies and love with others, we will see more clearly God's plan for us. We will be strengthened as we strengthen those around us. You'll probably see me use this quote a lot but it's because it's so important and it's also my favorite. Robert Ingersol once said. "We rise by lifting others." Its as simple as that. If you're feeling down. Feeling angry, feeling lost of confused. If you're feeling anything other than how you want to feel, there is a simple solution. Find a way to serve someone else. I'm such an advocate for this because it really works. When we follow the example of Christ and love others, He blesses us in more ways than we can understand. Anyway, that's my little rant. I hope anyone reading this will remember their importance and realize the difference they can make in their relationships and social circle. 

If you didn't already know, I love ya. Yep, every single one of you that reads my emails :) and I'm praying for you all the time. 

Love, 

Sister Masina

Pics sorry I'll take more next week. 

-we rake leaves 

-chikfila is our favorite

-golden hour? More like pink hour

-just your everyday Texas sunset