Happy New Year! It's crazy how the time flies! I am so happy to get to be a missionary in Yakima Washington right now. The Spanish branch I am in is incredible and I love the members and the people we are working with so much. It's amazing how much I have learned and am learning as a missionary.
Something I have been thinking about is the importance of saying enough but not too much. For those who knew me before the mission you probably know that I was a big talker. For example my siblings once played a game in the car on the way home from a church activity where they didn't say anything and waited to see when I would stop talking... I apparently I talked all the way home (probably 15 or so minutes) and they didn't say a word. So coming out on a mission where I couldn't speak the language taught me a lot. You learn to figure out what you need to say, not always what you want to say. You learn to listen harder and pay more attention to not just the words, but the body language and you rely a lot more on the Spirit to tell you how to respond. You recognize how weak you are and you turn to God in fervent prayer and cries for help so you learn humility. Learning a foreign language has been a wonderful adventure for me though and I'm so grateful for this opportunity. I have received so much help from the Lord, from companions and from the people I meet. I'm grateful for their love and patience with me. I've learned to think a lot more before speaking. Something I like that I saw one time is that what you say should go through three doors, Is it necessary? Is it kind? Is it true? Now I won't say I'm perfect with what I say and I'm still working on it and will be my whole life, but I feel like my mission has helped me to better recognize the importance of being careful of what you say.
I'm grateful for the Book of Mormon. I find it to be inspiring and it gives me strength and advice. Sometimes I'm reading in the Book of Mormon and I find something that sticks out to me that maybe I've never noticed and I wonder wow has that really been there all this time? I know that the Book of Mormon will help any seeker of truth to find what they are looking for and gain a testimony of Christ as our Savior and Redeemer as well as a testimony of the Restored Church of Jesus Christ through latter-day prophets beginning with Joseph Smith down to now Thomas S Monson. You just have to have a sincere desire to know and to act on the answer you receive. I love our leaders and I'm grateful for their guidance and I know that they are directed by Christ as they are obedient and follow the commandments.
I hope everyone can make the goal to read the Book of Mormon everyday and not just read it but study it and feast on it. Share it with others and invite all who want to come learn more at church and from the missionaries.
Love you all!
Hermana Brighton
