Hi my friends :)
Yes, the day is
coming near...
President Brown
does this thing where he asks the missionaries to record a list of 50 things
that they learned on their mission, so I decided that would be a pretty good
last email!
You may not
understand every point on the list, but you can just ask me what some of them are
when you see me in person!
1. My number one: Jesus is
the Christ
2. The three Nephites taught
me that YOU choose when your mission is over. (3 Nephi 28:2,9)
3. 10% of the miracles I saw
on my mission came from a direct prompting of the Holy Spirit. The other 90%
came by the spirit simply working THROUGH me because I was obedient, prayerful,
and trying my hardest to do God's will.
4. At home, I thought that
Missionaries were super human and basically perfect. I have learned that they
are not perfect. However, their calling, setting apart, and dedication to TRY
allows Christ the opportunity to work side by side with them.
5. Adventure is beautiful
(Sister Magleby)
6. If all Christ has to work
with is a willing heart, that is enough.
7. If you bear testimony to
an Atheist, 99% of the time they will laugh at you and then respond with,
"Good for you". After the conversation, Satan will jump in and try
and make you feel embarrassed or weak, but if you listen hard enough, you will
hear a voice telling you to "dust off the dust from your feet"
because you did exactly what God asked of you.
8. If I EVER become
president, I will change America over to the Metric System.
9. God is so patient.
10. Sprudel (what I always
called soda water in America) makes me thirsty.
11. Fake it till you make it
has actual power. If you don’t feel like smiling, smile. If you don't feel
like talking to people, stop someone. If you are losing patience with a
companion, pretend they are your favorite human on the Planet.
12. German spelling is similar
to ist people. Praktisch
13. The majority of people
believe that there is SOME higher form of energy. Most of those people,
however, are too lazy or comfortable to search for him when life is going well.
And everyone asks why God would ever allow bad things to happen...
14. There was a point on my
mission where I felt like a "place holder", like the only thing that
I was doing to help the mission was preventing an area from closing, but in
that Zone Conference, President said that there were at least 100 people
in every area prepared for baptism and that changed my perspective. I wanted to
find them.
15. America can be the brunt
of a lot of jokes, but when it comes down to it, I love my country. Seeing it
from Europe's perspective has not made me love it any less, but it has helped
me see the differences that I want to make.
16. This is Christ's church.
Anyone who does not think we are Christian must have drank a little bit too
much Apfel Schorle.
17. If we will take 100%
responsibility for our life, our drive to make it better will increase
substantially and we will go much farther in life than we ever imagined.
18. A tausch can do miracles
for your missionary work if both missionaries will come spiritually prepared to
take advice. (Sister Moffet)
19. My mission is like a cake
(Sister McClellan)
20. I was enough the day I
walked into the field.
21. If you understand heaven,
you will be miserable without daily repentance.
22. People believe that having
different religions is good so that you can find which one works best FOR YOU.
I know that God has one truth and that it can satisfy the needs of anyone if
they are willing to work FOR IT.
23. The Book of Mormon is like
a castle with hundreds of secret passage ways. You can explore it your entire
life time and always find new adventures that make your heart race.
24. Recycling is necessary.
25. People ask me if dooring
is effective. My answer is always, "Yes, if you do it with the
spirit".
26. I must constantly evaluate
what is on my beliefe window. (Sister Billings)
27. We stay in our comfort
zones because we believe exiting it would be painful. That is true, but if we
feel the prompting to leave our comfort zone and we stay, we will start
squirming around and we will realize the only true comfort comes in following
promptings to change.
28. Missionaries: General Conference
:: 5 Year Olds : Christmas
29. How to eat with a knife
and how to hold my fork with my left hand.
30. The Five Love Languages
are so important to understand. If you do not know how your companion receives
love and they do not know how you receive love, it will just be a huge mess.
(Disclaimer: Not everyone loves hugs as much as I do)
31. God knows what he is
doing, even when you think he has gone A-wall.
32. President Brown listens to
promptings.
33. Look for the little things
that help you take care of you.
34. I love riding Bikes
35. When the thought pops into
your head, "there is no way I am going to survive today", just
remember you have had that thought a thousand times and every time before, you
survived.
36. We have to Believe
Christ.
37. "For we
labor diligently to write, to persuade our
children, and also our brethren, to
believe in Christ, and to be
reconciled to God; for we know that
it is by grace that we are saved,
after all we [GOD AND I TOGETHER] can do"
38. The world needs more
cheerleaders and less critics
39. The best way to raise
strong children in the gospel is to help them receive an understanding of the
Plan of Salvation.
40. Umbrellas are genius. They
are worth the extra weight in your bag.
41. "A merely blind faith
gives us a soft saint; a merely blind doubt gives us a hard scientist."
(Glenn Frank, “The Will to Doubt") We have to find a middle ground.
42. The Celestial Kingdom is
not a struggle-free utopia. It is a place where we will be able to understand
and address suffering in ways consistent with joy, love, and agency
43. We have to do his work in
his way
44. When I signed up to be a
tool in the Lord's hands, I thought I could decide *what* kind of tool I wanted
to be. I wanted to be the loud huge tractor that moved mountains, but God
wanted me to be humble enough to be the quiet little screw driver that he
needed for smaller, more specific jobs.
45. Deciding to serve a
mission was like choosing to put yourself through the wringer.
46. In order for a ward
council to be effective, all leaders of the organizations need to come prepared
to sacrifice of themselves a little deeper to better the ward. (Also, the
German culture starts gemeindarat at 19 and ends at 22... or
later)
47. "When you cannot love
someone, look him into their eyes long enough to find the hidden rudiments of
the child of God in him". (Elder F Enzio Busche)
48. "The pain of
sacrifice lasts only a minute. It is the fear of the pain of sacrifice that
makes you hesitate to do it". (Elder F Enzio Busche)
49. My bishop was right. A
mission is for ANYONE who is physically and emotionally capable of serving and
if a Girl's answer is not a clear "no" to serving a mission, she
should go!
50. There is no experience
that could replace a mission. Nothing compares to wearing his name on your
chest for the World to see and being his hands to do his work.
Love you
- Sister Reay
