In the Head of Hannie: August 31, 2015

SUPER STARS!!

A, hopefully, long email.

Alright, a lot happened this week considering I hit my year mark. Yeah, all of you who doubted that I'd even make it though the MTC, take that. Hermana Porter is here and one year in the making.

So this week was a week full of meetings and I learned SO much. SO MUCH. I'm going to talk about

1. The meetings.

2. My blessing.

3. What I've learned one year in the making.

So, our mission has been having some problems with getting a long with one another. Nothing TOO serious but yeah. SO President held an emergency Mission Leadership Counsel and we talked about it. Since this is the first transfer with every one combined we decided that we needed to start fixing it now because next transfer we are getting so many new missionaries and they can't come into this environment. The spirit was so strong as we talked about what we could do to help the mission. We decided we were going to help them by teaching them about the Christ-like attributes. WE also needed to make sure that we are setting the example and helping all those who we are serving with. THEN we went back and we taught what we learned in our MLC to our zones. Ours turned out to be a huge companionship inventory and it was kinda awkward but IT actually was really beneficial and the spirit was strong. Sister Maukeni said I got a little sassy and motherly...oooops. haha.

After that meeting, on Thursday we had Elder Hamula from the 70 come and speak to us. IT was SUCH a great conference. He talked about the importance of exact obedience and also about how we are to work with our ward and stake leaders. He encouraged us to have dinner regularly with our ward mission leader, bishop and stake presidents. He also told us to make a focus on those who will be prospective elders. He said that is where the finding is at. Really all the church should be making a focus there but a lot of us aren't. He said if we start working with the prospective elders and their families he promises us that here will be so many baptisms that new stakes will have to be made. I thought that was a crazy CRAZY promise. But he showed us the numbers to back it up so we are going to start. The spirit was so strong in those meetings and we received SUCH good counsel. I'm so grateful we got to have those experiences.

So for the last 6 weeks or so I've been having really bad head aches. They have been getting worse and worse and it was pretty bad. I've made a promise to the Lord that I was going to keep pushing through it and that I was going to keep working. Saturday it was nearly impossible to work and we were on exchanges. I felt like I should get a blessing and then Sister Neeley (the sister I was on exchanges with) said "Maybe you should ask for a blessing." When she said that I got an overwhelming feeling that I needed to ask the assistants for it. Well, a lot of things happened that night and it was looking like I wasn't going to get it. We were on our way home from exchanging back and it was almost 9:30 pm. and I was like "We should just stop by the church and see if they are still there." We did and they were. They gave me a blessing and it was probably one of the most powerful blessing I have ever received. The spirit was so strong. Elder Murdock gave me the blessing and he told me things that I needed to do about things I was struggling with that I didn't even know I was struggling with. The spirit was so powerful and I was so grateful for the blessing. The crazy thing is that after the blessing Sister Maukeni and Elder Bosswell said that they heard Elder Murdock start the blessing but the couldn't hear the rest. The spirit was so strong in that room. Me and Elder Murdock were both crying. Ever since then...I have been feeling great.

Alright, now I think mom has forgotten but I recently hit my year mark and she's asked me to tell what I've learned about the Gospel, about Myself, and about Others. She didn't remind me so maybe everyone forgot about my year mark but here is what I've learned so far.

Gospel Sense:

1. The scriptures are a STORY!

Believe it or not the scriptures are a story and it is the best story in the world. I've noticed that the more I read the more I understand and the more I love them. I've started finding little jokes in the scriptures and so many other things that I love. Like when Captain Moroni writes his letter to Pahoran and chews him out and Pahoran is just like "sorry dude." I mean, haven't we all been in the situation before? Or if we take Ammon as an example, the poor guy just gets so excited all the time. And every time he gets excited, HE FAINTS! Isn't that so funny? I just love it so much. The scriptures have been given to help us, not to kill us of boredom.

2. Follow the promptings of the spirits.

Just do it. Do it always. Don't be fearful or scared just have the faith, jump out the window and see where the spirit takes you. Plus, when you ignore the spirit, you always kick yourself afterwards. Just keep listening and see the blessings that come along.

3. God's timing is Perfect.

Seriously, as you follow the promptings of the Holy Ghost you realize how perfect God's timing is. You just have to be willing to follow what He gives you. His timing will line up exactly with everything that needs to happen. We are SO blessed to have a Heavenly Father who loves us that much. Before my mission I worried a lot about what I was going to do in 5 years or even 5 days but now, I know that as I follow the spirit, the Lord will never leave me and my life will pan out the way He wants it to.

4. He will ALWAYS extend tender mercies.

Every time I've been struggling and suffering He always gives me a tender mercy. Maybe it is an email or maybe a letter or a package, but whatever it is, it is always helpful. It just reaffirms my testimony that our God is a loving Father in Heaven who wants what is best for us. That brings me so much comfort.

About Myself:

1. I'm an emotional roller coaster. I"m just a hot mess all the time. I know all of you know that already but it is something that I've realized for myself. When things get anywhere greater or lower than a 4 on the emotional scale I freak out. My poor companions, they have to suffer so much. I've realized that the more I rely on the Lord the more Heavenly Father blesses me and the more I feel confident in my emotions.

2. I have to have down time. That is something that I have learned on the mission. When I get home I have to have time planned where I don't do anything. On the mission every single minute is planned for you even the time to clean and that is too much for me. Because we have such a short amount of time to clean and do anything I feel like i have to use that to let my mind rest which make me lazy.

4. I'm funny and that is not a bad thing. For the longest time people would tell me that I was funny and I took it as an insult. It always hurt my feelings a lot. But I realized recently that being funny isn't a bad thing. I think I used to think that being funny meant I couldn't be spiritual or loving or kind or empathetic and that really hurt my feelings. But I realized that I can be all those things when I am funny. So now, i love the fact that I'm funny.

5. " I am enough, I am of worth, there is a reason I came to this earth. I am a daughter o a daughter of God, I am enough." That is something that has been reaffirmed over and over again in my life. I feel like when being an SLT people expect you to have all the answers and be perfect but that is quite the opposite in my case and I feel super inadequate but I've realized that I am enough and the Lord will qualify me.

About Others.

1. People like compliments. They will almost always talk to you for a long time if you start your conversation off with a compliment.

2. Most people are doing the best that they know how. We get so impatient with them but really everyone is just trying to do their best. I've being trying to notice the good that everyone does. It makes me have a better outlook on life.

Alright. That is all I have time for this week. I hope it was long enough. Hope you learned something.

Love,

Hermana Porter.