Well, Thursday, September 25th was my year mark. That is beyond bizzare. I'm one of the old missionaries now. That means I only have 6 months before I go home. Weird. But a time like this is great for reflection and goal-setting, so I've been thinking about strengths I still want to develop, weaknesses I need to improve and where I'm heading. I am so excited for General Conference and the time of revelation it provides. I've been thinking a lot about questions too. Women's Conference last Saturday was amazing and I learned a lot but what stuck out to me most was part of President Uchtdorf's talk where he taught the principle: Come seeking and you will gain more. I've been thinking about the importance of preparation (also taught in women's conference) and asking the right questions.
Grandpa Sessions sent me a quote I really like by Tad R. Callister: "The power of a good question is of inestimable worth. It is like an... alarm clock that awakens us out of our mental doldrums. It is a catalyst that jump-starts our mental engines." In light of that I have been trying to prepare myself more for conference. I have been trying to soften my heart and open my mind to counsel and correction, to apply every talk to myself, realizing that I need to improve in all the areas talked about because I am far from perfect. I'm trying to ask good questions, to "come seeking" so I can gain more. I would encourage all of you to do the same.
Some of the miracles from this week include being able to teach a family! Now, you might ask, "Aren't you in a student ward? How does that work?" Let me tell you. Our investigator Brooke is amazing. She also happens to be one of the funniest people I know, but that's besides the point. She's getting baptized October 11th, and has been talking to her family about the Gospel and how much it has blessed her life already. She has changed a lot in many positive ways. Her sister wanted to learn more, so we went over to her house to teach her and invited her parents to sit in on the lesson. We were originally trying to pass them off to the family ward missionaries, but they got confused on where it was and which ward, so we ended up just teaching them this first time. It was so great to teach a whole family! They were all very attentive and interested in understanding, and Brooke was such a powerful influence! She bore her testimony repeatedly to her family about various principles we taught and the Spirit was so powerful when she spoke. It was an amazing lesson.
In addition to that our investigator Jacob set a baptismal date! He's doing great, and he seems very prepared. We have high hopes for him. His member girlfriend from Louisiana came up and attended our ward on Sunday. She's super great and is preparing to leave on her mission to Colorado in November. She bore her testimony during sacrament meeting and I loved her insights. She woke up at 4:30 or something ridiculous to drive here and along the way got to watch the sunrise and encountered a lot of bugs hitting her car. Here's the analogy.
Sunrises are beautiful, but one of the coolest parts about it is watching the world turn from gray to color. The higher the sun rises in the sky, the more vibrant the world becomes and the easier it is to see. Lets think about priorities here. How high is the Son in our life? The same principles apply, the higher He is, the more vibrant and beautiful life becomes and the easier it is to see. Now, as we go through the roads of life sometimes we'll have bugs hit our windshields--sometimes there's a lot of bugs. These are like sin that obscure our vision, but thankfully we have windshield wipers (repentance) that can get rid of it, but it only works if we have the spray stuff (faith). Beautiful insights from a seemingly simple drive.
One of my other favorite talks from women's conference was Neill F. Marriot who said we have a responsibility to add light and truth to our lives and share it with others. As we come with open hearts and put the Son higher in our lives we'll gain more light, as we come seeking we will gain more. I invite all of y'all to come seeking to General Conference. Come with questions and with the intent to learn and change. I promise you'll gain more. Love you lots! I want to hear what everyone learned at Conference, or what their favorite part was.
Love,
Sister Andreason
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