Tuesday, October 6, 2015

Trust Me

Well everyone,  as I sat in conference I decided that I should just throw in the towel because how am I ever going to write about this past week and about how amazing it was, especially with conference??!!! Well I’m gonna try anyway :)



The week started with a surprise birthday party for an elder in our district with food, cake etc. The next was a training day for us new folk where Sister C. and I traveled to the chapel next to the temple, had training with talks, activities, lunch and giving out a Book of Mormon in front of the temple. I saw some good friends again! It is always great to visit the headquarters every once and a while. I’ve realized once again how competitive I am....for a meeting we did an activity where whoever got the answer correct could smash a plate of whipped cream in the losers face....and let’s just say I did not want to change my clothes and have this happen. Luckily I got the first one right...but then I had to go again! This time we both didn’t know the answer and smashed it in each other’s face at the same time which was not a good idea...some in the hair...most of it fell on my skirt.  Let’s just say I’m remembering how competitiveness is important/fun but don’t let it ruin the fun! Who cares if there’s sticky sugary stuff all over your face and skirt… Get over it! Great lesson for me :)



On a more spiritual note, I’ve learned this past week that it’s not about the numbers. Yes we create goals for every day and week to motivate us to do our best and even raising the bar but how many baptisms did John the Baptist have before he was asked to baptize Christ? 0...a big goose egg yet he was worthy. He was exactly who Christ needed. He wasn’t asked because he had 100 other baptisms or 10000 contacts. It was because of his character, his testimony, his spirituality. This is what I need to focus on. Am I doing my best? Am I prepared to do the Fathers will even without 100 baptisms? Am I focusing on what’s most important? That’s my first food for thought...

Another is The Atonement is like a trail already blazed in the beautiful mountains, all we have to do is walk it! Yes there might be steep parts, or sharp turns but we weren’t the one who had to clear out the trees, boulders and dirt to create the trail. Christ did. He removed every rock. Please enjoy this life like it’s a beautiful hike (wow I’m on a rhyming roll! haha not really)

Lastly, my conference story :) I was at first a bit bitter about having to watch it in Portuguese because I was insecure about how much I would understand and that I wouldn’t get all the answers I needed but immediately I was corrected in my heart and mind. I kept having the thought "Trust me" and "Why are you forgetting the power in the language of the Spirit" "I called you to preach in the Portuguese language" etc. This calmed my heart and made conference amazing. I obviously didn’t understand every word like a native speaker but I understood what I needed. I even had the opportunity to hear the beginning of the English phrases before the translation for a bit of help. In total I watched 3 out of 4 conference sessions in Portuguese (one I got to watch in English cause a member could watch it with me) and women’s conference in Portuguese as well. This conference was such a refreshing time for my spirit and soul. My love for the prophet and apostles is stronger, my testimony and conversion is better all because of two days. I can’t wait to get the Liahona and read them over and over again. I hope you all had just as good a time as I did. Share what you learned with others. I know without a doubt that everyone got something different out of conference, because the language of the spirit speaks to everyone in their own personal way. I hope we respond in our own way back because that’s what God wants; Our personality; Our testimony. We are all different but with our differences, we are united. We are members, disciples, and warriors in this battle of life. This truly is the last dispensation and we need to prepare now! Grab what you can to train, exercise, and support your comrades. I love you all very much. Know that I prepare every day to meet my God. I don’t want to be caught unprepared. I want to be over prepared and it’s my decision to do such.




I’m staying in Cotia for now :) and am overjoyed to be a missionary now. We don’t have to wait until we're grown....the time is now :)

Tchau

Sister Oldroyd

2 comments:

  1. Sister O, you just glow!!! Love reading your wit and wisdom :-) We miss you but are thrilled, knowing of the lives you touch with your boundless energy and testimony! Love you :-))

    The Harts

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  2. ps- Talking about Conference...(you DID bring it up!), one of the quotes that hit me was from Elder Nelson who said, " "We need women who have a bedrock understanding of the doctrine of Christ and who will use that understanding to teach and help raise a sin-resistant generation. We need women who can detect deception in all of its forms. We need women who know how to access the power that God makes available to covenant keepers and who express their beliefs with confidence and charity." I LOVE THAT!! There is SO MUCH in that! Yes, we know that Satan will be bound because of the righteousness of the people but I hadn't thought about my role to help raise a sin-resistant generation. It gives me goosebumps to think that I could play such a role! Hey, I'm almost ready to retire! "Detect deception in all its forms"...wow... and 'know how to access the power that God makes available to covenant keepers"...I'm a covenant keeper but don't think I know how to fully access that power He's made available. "A bedrock of understanding of the doctrine of Christ"...One of my favorite quotations is from Gerald Lund's preface to the 4th volume of The Work and The Glory. Here it is, in part:
    "Those few terrible months in Missouri bring a lesson that should cause
    us sober reflection. There are no warranties against wavering. Aligning
    ourselves with the Lord and his cause is a commitment that must be made again and again, day after day. Unless we ground ourselves in faith, and sink down our foundations to the bedrock of Jesus Christ, and commit
    ourselves to follow those whom he has called to lead us, we too may
    falter and fall."
    Thank you for your strength! You are stronger than you realize and lift many!

    Love, Sister Hart

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