9/1/14

“When ye are in the service of your fellow beings, ye are only in the service of your God.”

Hello my dear family and friends! 

This week has been FULL of service! We have been busy and it has just been fun! :) 

We helped Sister Linda Johnson clear out some trees and brush in her back yard. Us and both sets of Elders went to help for about 3 hours at her home. It was pretty fun! We mowed and cut and dragged and threw logs and branches. It was awesome to look at everything we accomplished.Lots of hard work, and i was sore the next couple of days, but i was so much fun and so worth it! :)  

I have had to remind my self a lot of that doctrine this week.  That even when things are hard and we are sore, they are worth it. because it means we are growing, and being strengthened. simple, yet satisfying...

We also helped sister Millard with her garden. We helped to plant some seeds, she is hoping they will work this late in the season. It was pretty fun. it reminded me of the days that dad and i would plant gardens together and then he would do the rest of the work. hahaha still true sometimes. hahah but funny.  :) so we planted seeds for her to do the rest of the work. 

AND THIS WEEK:  tomorrow actually, I am so excited! one of my goals since coming on my mission has been to mow the lawn! I have just been wanting to mow the lawn, i know it seems weird, but i really do miss it.  So.. TOMORROW is the day!! i am so excited! its going to be awesome! 

oh, transfers.. I am staying here, and staying with sister Henderson for another transfer. Should be great! i love being here. There are a lot of people that we need to find and teach. 

we have been talking to a lot of people this week actually. it has been really cool just to see how we have been placed in the right places at the right times. It feels good to just be talking to everyone about the gospel. We have met with a few of those people and have another appointment tonight with this girl named shaun.  It is exciting. we are just trying to get our teaching pool rebuilt, and get the ball rolling. 

We are still working with Linda and Patricia. THey are doing well, linda received a calling and we are working to help Patricia get to Nauvoo!  woot! 

We had dinner with Maribel this week, she is a recent convert in this ward, and from Mexico. she fed us so much good food! I felt like i was at Tacos Manuel. It was delish! but as in that culture, right as i was filling extrmely full, she pulled out more food for us to eat.. i about died. we didnt eat the next day. haha 

We had a really fun activity with the relief society this week. they had "learn a new skill" night. It was really fun to be there and talked to a few non-members who came. It was great to see members invite their freinds to church activities. So we had some good conversations with them. 

Moments of darkness and depression or fear and pain, are some of the worst. some of the pains and worries we have can seem to great to handle. That we are not up for the job, or that they are too overwhelming. That frustrations will never leave and we don't know how to do things differently to resolve problems. i have loved looking at this quote from Harold B. Lee " happiness does not depend on what happens outside of you, but on what happens inside of you; it is measured by the spirit with which you meet the problems of life." 

I know Heavenly Father is mindful of us and that he loves us. I know that He is aware of us on a very personal level. and loves us. trust in the lord. That is all he asks of us. even when he requires that we do things that are hard. I know it is a growing experience and i know we are blessed as we do all that we can to follow the trusting advice and direction he gives to us. and it will become easier to meet the problems of life with that happy attitude. 

I love the book of mormon. I know its power is real. and I love the feeling i get every time i read.

ok, love you all! 

hope to hear from you soon! 

love,

Sister O'Neil 

summer bug bite count: + 5