May 27

Today we honor the men and women that have sacrificed to give us freedom. 
And every day we honor our savior who truly lived and died for our freedom. 
"And now, the plan of mercy could not be brought about except an atonement should be made; therefore God himself atoneth for the sins of the world, to bring about the plan of mercy, to appease the demands of justice, that God might be a perfect, just God, and a merciful God also" (alma 42:15)

Let's take a flash back to last fall. Sister Minaker and I were together walking down the side of a highway in Alexandria. A woman was walking towards us. We stopped her and shared a message of our savior. We got her number and tried for a month or so to have a lesson with her or invite her to church but to no avail. My last week in Crystal City she finally came to church &, was so touched by the spirit, broke down into tears. Flash forward to last night at our new and returning member fireside, she spoke as a recent convert!!! She told the story about how Sister Minaker and I introduced her to the church and it came at a perfect time because since moving to America (from Peru) she has had a very hard time finding any type of stability or peace. My favorite thing she said was "The book of mormon is a book of answers. It's a book of connections. Open anywhere and read and you'll find answers and connection." 

Two christlike examples of every day heros:
1. We were in our apartment when someone knocked our door. We usually aren't on the inside end of a knocked door so it caught us by surprise. It was our two little neighbor friends, maybe 7 or 8 years old! They handed us an ice cream cone and said "Its Ramadan, here's some ice cream!!"  They wanted to serve their neighbors & service should require sacrifice. I thought it was pretty sacrificial for two children to give up their ice cream. :')  
2. We were knocking down a row of townhomes one evening, a Muslim woman from Pakistan answered. We shared a message about how we can have eternal families because of our savior! She invited us inside and we had dinner with them! The mother and her children hadn't eaten all day and they were serving us first just because we are all children of God! 

Life is so wonderful! 😊 I love missionary life. High hopes you all have a safe and joyful summer! 

Love, Sister Izzy Smith 




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Good News!!

Image
Good news, our birds are still eating the food we leave out for them on the balcony. We have a blue jay and a crow that are regulars. no big deal. Also good news, IM STAYING IN CRYSTAL CITY WITH SISTER MINAKER FOR ANOTHER SIX WEEKS  this week we gathered some nuts that had fallen off a tree and ended up along the road in the gutter. We cracked them and tried boiling them. I don't know what our end goal was.. but it didn't work. Advice: leave the gutter nuts, they are very bitter. We met a man on the fourth floor... last door (haha)!! He met with missionaries in Korea but lost contact when he moved back to America. WELL HELLO, MIRACLES! There is a part of preach my gospel where a recent convert expresses how when he found the church it filled a hole in his heart/life that he didn't know was missing. That's the best way I can explain how being on a mission feels like. I have found a piece of me I didn't know was missing. Life right before leaving was so wonderful...
Read more

I LOVE YOU

Image
Before I left on my mission I was worried about the work coming off as "here, let me tell you how to live your life." I hate that feeling. (Degrading advice?) But what I've realized, and what is so beautiful about this gospel, is that when people are wanting to change the teachings, the truths, the testimonies, they all have a spirit of love. People realize and feel that we are here helping them because of love. Not because our way is better than their way. But because they have tried their way & through personal trials they have realized that the only way is God's way. Missionaries teach God's way. And help our heavenly father's children understand His way. This work is so worth it, always, but especially when the people thank us for helping them get closer to Christ. GAH,  THIS IS THE BEST.  Whilst on exchanges this week...  I was in the YSA area right next to mine with mah girl Sister. Wayment. We had a lesson with someone she is teaching na...
Read more

Aug 19 SUNSHINE

Image
"And now behold, I say unto you, my brethren, if ye have experienced a change of heart, and if ye have felt to sing the song of redeeming love, I would ask, can ye feel so now?" (-alma 5:26) Alright!! I must tell y'all about Sam Sayem. We met him two weeks ago. I haven't mentioned him yet because I didn't want to take attention away from Brother Farraj and Megan!   WELL, SAM IS AWESOME. I met him on an exchange. He and his wife were getting their groceries and going into the house. They really didn't seem that interested. But God knows the heart because the next day my real companion and I were in that same apartment complex. We saw a man sitting in his car, so naturally we go wave him to roll down his window so we can talk to him (perks of being a sister). It was Sam!! He says "I read your pamphlet. I was going to call you today because I know there must be a prophet on earth today." (Grew up Muslim in Bangladesh might I add..) Well, since that d...
Read more