I want to reiterate what I said in April that General Conference should be called Specific Conference because there is nothing "general" about it! I'll tell you what... I was left feeling like I was so perfectly aware of after EVERY TALK!!! It's just like a fireworks show, how can I even begin to choose a favorite?!?! They all were so amazing!!!! From Elder Zwick quoting my all time favorite Disney The Lion King to Elder Uchtdorf speaking what my heart needed to hear and my spirit needed to feel when he said that when worrying about what others think or say about you "the antidote is REMEMBER WHO YOU ARE." Then there was Elder Rasband who dedicated pretty much his entire talk to one of my fav phrases "there are no coincidences," also when Elder Nelson reiterated President Monson's Book of Mormon promise. Elder Haleck reminded me sacrifice is real and made by people all over the world. Sister Oscarson pointed out that service opportunities are right in front of us. M. Russell Ballard spoke of our remarkable pioneer ancestors. Elder Ellis asked me if I trust the Lord. Elder Ardern said caterpillar in his accent and you couldn't help but smile and cling to his every word. Elder Alonso shared how his family loves one another. And finally when Elder Anderson shared a portion of Elder Hales sweet piercing testimony and also quoted President Monson to the point that it almost was like the experience of Brigham Young when he began to resemble and sound like the Prophet Joseph. As he read his closing piece it seemed to me his mannerisms changed to resemble our beloved Prophet Thomas S. Monson... It was so cool... SO COOL!!!!
Oh my goodness I could rant and rave for days, I'll just sum it up by saying that the Church is true and the Godhead is good, that's all there is to it.
Alright so continuing on with my week and with the fireworks theme I want to share some of my favorite stories. I want to share a story related to a type or color of firework, does that make sense? Sorry if it doesn't, my creativity might be waning I feel like I've written so many of these. But all is well I am grateful for the awesome responses from people who actually read them, it's an honor really so thank you for taking the time to read into my great Tennessee adventure! Alright here's your firework show.
Red: red was the color of my face when I was frustrated after we had gone over to help some people the elders found who needed emergency help moving their house... OHHH MY GOODNESS IT was a wreck of a place, so much junk, so unorganized, so overwhelming we would dump drawers and shelves full of stuff into boxes and tape it up. It was horrible. However nothing was as bad as when we opened the fridge to clean it up and I took out shelves and was scrubbing them clean with scalding water when I look outside to see the husband of the house climbing into the dumpster going after some beloved hot sauce we had thrown away.... He then proceeded to rifle through a bunch of other trash bags and pull junk out. Ohhhh my fury was real I scrubbed that tray so hard I thought it might crack in half. I was praying so hard. I have such a low tolerance for packrats and it grinds my gears when people get attached to stuff. Hot sauce... oh you would've thought I had just eaten some hot sauce how mad I was inside. I need to repent and be better but my goodness... dumpster diving for hot sauce
Green: an old woman had a pile of green weeds and dead flowers she was trimming as we went to go talk with her. We asked her the soul searching question of: "if the savior were here right now what would you ask Him?" She loved that, and said she would have to ask her sister and her pastor. We tried to explain that we wanted to know what SHE herself would ask. She couldn't come up with an answer but we had a good conversation. She wasn't interested in our message but enjoyed talking with us. As we were getting ready to leave she stands up from her stool she was sitting on in the grass and there was a hole in the ground that none of us saw until one foot goes into it and suddenly I get a faceful of grandma as she fell into us. Both Hermana See and I were CNA's before our missions so we knew exactly what to do to assist her in falling and standing back up. However I must say that that in my 7 1/2 months of working at the Villas I never had anyone fall on me yet here I am in Greeneville Tennessee picking up an elderly woman up out of her garden. Always an adventure out here, never know what to expect.
Blue: the color I feel when I am lonely even in a busy crowded day. Also the feeling of sadness I get when people can't see how the gospel can bless their lives... How it can salvage their marriage, strengthen their family, provide opportunities and blessings that they cannot even imagine! If they would only give it a try. Sometimes there are quite a few blue fireworks that burst into my day and I feel down. But they are never permanent there is always some other event or experiemce to brighten my day, make me feel inspired, and happy. Blue fireworks don't last long.
Purple: the color of the plants we helped one of our investigators on date had us help plant in preparation for her upcoming wedding. My goodness she is so awesome. She is so receptive to everything that we talk about and says it just makes sense. I just love her!!! She is so cute and has the most adorable little girl ever she loved helping us dig out rocks and shovel mulch for service. Also our investigator "randomly" quit drinking coffee a few months back because she felt like it... hmm no coincidences though am I right?
Sparkle: ooh ok I love these ones where the fireworks shoot up and then almost disappear so it leaves you wondering where it went then suddenly it sparkles and glitters. So that's like when we experience a bunch of tender mercies and then something throws the day off like I don't know someone says something that ticks us off and makes us question the way we do missionary work or life in general. And then suddenly the Lord provides a way for us to go to a lesson with a woman who committed to baptism but we haven't been able to get into contact with her for a few weeks, but when we do go back she says she wondered where we went she has been reading the Book of Mormon and is in Alma!!!! OH MY GOODNESS!!! There is that sparkle where the spirit comes and everything is ok. The Lord is so good.
Ok so the final thing I want to talk about is you know that feeling when you watch a firework show and as they go off you can feel it in your chest and you feel a little more alive? Well that is how the Spirit feels. That moment when you have a question answered and you know God is aware. You can feel it inside. The time when you sit with someone knowing you just said something that touched them, you can feel it deep within. When you know people care about and support you, it's a deep and inspiring feeling.
Anyway I am grateful for the firework show that was conference I was sad when it ended just as I am often sad when fireworks end. But unlike firework shows we can watch conference over and over again, which I'm so grateful for!!!!
But it's been another good week, I hope it has been for y'all as well.
Hope you keep looking for the bursts of light in your life whatever color they may be they each are there for a reason and are more than just a show, God has arranged them into something beautiful and awe inspiring. And I love it.
Love y'all!!!!
Love,
Hermana Hall
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