week 55

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been pretty good. It's nice that I didn't have to pack everything to move into a different area, rather I just had to change bedrooms. Ha, the only struggle has been going into the wrong bedroom sometimes. Otherwise things haven't been to crazy. The new area I'm in is not as predominantly Hispanic as the previous but we are finding people to teach. It's been really incredible to see how the Lord has guided us to people who we needed to talk to and we were then able to send the English Elders to go meet them. 

A little while ago I found a quote I really love.

"If for a while the harder you try, the harder it gets, take heart. So it has been with the best people who ever lived."

-Elder Jeffrey R. Holland

I really like this because we are reminded that there is always opposition but that doesn't mean we should give up. Even the best people have had to be confronted with trials and struggles. Christ himself suffered "pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind" so that He could know how to succor His people- us. I believe that sometimes we pass through certain hardships so that we can know how to help others who experience similar hard times. I'm grateful for a Savior who understands me perfectly. I've always loved the words to the hymn "Where Can I Turn For Peace?" because they remind me of the unfailing source of hope and comfort I have when I may think no one else understands what I'm going through.

1. Where can I turn for peace?
Where is my solace
When other sources cease to make me whole?
When with a wounded heart, anger, or malice,
I draw myself apart,
Searching my soul?

2. Where, when my aching grows,
Where, when I languish,
Where, in my need to know, where can I run?
Where is the quiet hand to calm my anguish?
Who, who can understand?
He, only One.

3. He answers privately,
Reaches my reaching
In my Gethsemane, Savior and Friend.
Gentle the peace he finds for my beseeching.
Constant he is and kind,
Love without end.

So I hope everyone has a wonderful week and remembers our true source of comfort and strength and hope, our Savior Jesus Christ and what He did for us.

I love you all!

Hermana Brighton

Week 54

Dear Family and Friends,

This week was the last week of the transfer and we received our transfer calls this past Saturday. I accepted the assignment to become a Sister Training Leader and my new (not-so-new) companion will be Hermana Bailey. It will be fun working with her again because she was my companion for a transfer when I went back to Royal for the second time. 

So I will be staying in Yakima and will be working in a different area, but will still be in the same Spanish branch. I'm looking forward to learning A LOT as I work more closely with other Sister missionaries and do all I can to help and serve them.

Some great verses of scripture I'm ponderizing for the week is 1 Nephi 10:18-19. I love how it says we have to search diligently to really find out and understand the mysteries of God. We have to put forth effort in order to receive and/or find answers. We can't just expect answers to come easily all the time, exactly when we want them. I know this is true and I love when after a long search or diligent study I am able to receive guidance from the Spirit of God that helps me better understand different doctrines and principles of the gospel and how I can better apply them in my personal life.

So kind of funny news is that I will still be living in the same house as my old companion yet I will have a new companion and my old companion will be training a new missionary. It should be an interesting adjustment these next couple weeks, but it should all be fine. Because we've been receiving so many new missionaries they've had to change a lot of housing arrangements in order to accommodate the new missionaries. I'm looking forward to a great transfer though, full of learning and changing for the better.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful week! 

Love you all!

Hermana Brighton

Week 53

Dear Family and Friends,

Last night my companion and I rode with a member to go to a little city that we cover about 30 minutes outside Yakima and we had a really interesting experience. The people in the first house we went to were not very interested in changing and although the spirit was with us testifying of the truth of our message it was like they couldn't feel it at all. They just were not at all open to change. The second family we visited was a completely different story. I feel like they really have been prepared by God to receive the Restored Gospel. When we talked to them about their greatest desires they very sincerely told us how they want the best for their children (in fact that's why they recently moved here to Washington- to get away from the drugs and gangs in California), and the husband shared how he wants to change and become better. They were just so desirous to learn more and we are so excited to teach them.

This past week or so I've been studying about Christlike attributes and I really like the Attribute Activity in Preach My Gospel because it really makes you stop and think and really spiritually evaluate yourself. You really learn a lot about your character. So I definitely would recommend taking a little time each day to maybe just evaluate yourself and how you are doing with developing certain characteristics and attributes. You can learn and grow a lot from it and then be able to set goals to improve.

This week the scripture that I am ponderizing is Mosiah 3:19 and I really like it because of the attributes it reminds us we should have.

Yesterday I got to teach the gospel principles class at church about missionary work and it went really well. The spirit definitely helped to know what to say and do and I am coming to realize that I really like teaching the gospel in a class setting with members where all can contribute and where we can learn and grow together.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful week! Keep doing the little things- personal prayer and scripture STUDY (not just reading)- to strengthen your testimonies and to help you be safe and protected when life throws curve balls your way.

Love you all!

Hermana Brighton

Week 52

Dear Family and Friends,

Wow. This week has been so full of learning experiences and my testimony of the Restored Gospel is being strengthened and reinforced each day as I study and pray with real intent and desire to know truth. 

General Conference was an incredible experience. I know that God cares for his children and it is through called and ordained leaders that we can receive additional inspiration and teachings to guide us on our pathways here in mortality. I had many questions answered and I know that God is aware of me and love me because I am His special spirit daughter. I know that God created our spirits and He knows us better than we do and sees the divine potential we have. The Spirit of God has lead me to find answers to questions and even doubts I've had. I love what was stated in conference though about how faith and doubt cannot exist in you simultaneously. Faith dispels doubt. I know this is true and as we choose to have faith and push forward despite out weaknesses and difficulties, God recognizes that and is proud of us. I know that when we choose faith, we also choose to trust in God and His timing and His timing is perfect. Answers do come. Sometimes we just have to wait for them in patience all the while searching diligently for answers.

My companion and I had a special experience when one of our investigators invited us over to come teach. It was so amazing to come at someone else's request and then teach someone who is so ready and willing to learn. Who has so much desire to know! She wants to be baptized and has set October 24th as the date. We have a lot to teach her still but I know that things will happen according to God's will as long as she submits her will to His. :)

I love you all and hope you are all continually learning and growing your testimonies of the doctrines and principles of the Restored Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am immensely grateful for the opportunity I have to be a full time missionary and see the lives of those I love be blessed, mine included.

Love,

Hermana Brighton 

Week 51

Dear Family and Friends,

I hope everyone had a wonderful week. It is starting to really cool off here in Yakima and I believe it was in the 40s this morning, at least according to our car. It really warms up during the day though so it's been really beautiful. I'm going to have to get used to wearing a sweater and then back to boots and a coat for this up coming winter. It's fun to really experience all four seasons.

This week my companion and I had an interesting experience. It was later at night and we were walking down a street when we saw a couple people sitting at a bench so we went over to talk to them. At first they were super closed off and the woman kept saying she didn't believe in Joseph Smith and other things like that, but then she said she was glad we came over because our smiles made her night better. We started to share why we were so happy and we ended up getting to teach her all about Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon and she accepted a copy of the Book of Mormon and a pamphlet about the Restoration of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and said she'd read them. I think that lesson we had with that woman and her friend really was something I won't forget. I just remember being filled with so much peace and desire to share the truth with her. I'm so grateful the spirit softened her heart and that by the end she truly wanted to know for herself if all we shared is true. She even said the prayer before we left and she expressed to God that she wanted to know if those things we shared with her were something she needed to know about. So this little experience really stood out as a bright moment in a somewhat tough week.

Here are a couple things I found this week while studying that I thought I'd share.

Luke 9:52- And Jesus said unto him, no man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

I like this scripture because it made me think about how for me I've currently devoted my whole life to sharing the gospel- I've put my hand to the plough. When my full-time mission ends though that doesn't mean my sharing the gospel should end or that I should go back to who I was before. I shouldn't look back at all but look forward with an eye of faith, taking what I've learned in the past and using that to help me move forward and keep pushing the plough.

We had a meeting with a lot of missionaries this past week and something that was said really stood out to me. "Charity- the never-ending search for someone else's happiness." That is so true. That was Christ's motivation for all he did- our eternal happiness. It was also said that "Charity is the silver bullet to missionary work." If your motivation isn't love, Love for the Lord, Love for the People, Love for your companion and those you serve, then it makes everything a lot harder.

So a couple funny things from this week. While reaching to knock a door I mixed up my words and accidentally asked my companion if I should "knock the doorbell" instead. We were laughing about that one for a while afterwards, probably not that funny but we for some reason just couldn't stop laughing.

We did a service project this week and painted fire hydrants. We got paint on our hands and arms and had to resort to desperate measures to get the paint off... scrubbing with iron wool. It worked pretty well to get the paint off, and maybe a couple layers of skin. All's well that ends well though and we were just relieved to find something that could scrub the paint off cause it was stuck on pretty good.

Well I hope everyone has a wonderful week! I'm looking forward to general conference at the end of the week. I'm curious to see who the 3 new apostles will be. I feel like by the end of my mission we'll have a whole new quorum of the 12! I hope not though. I hope everyone takes some time to write a few questions they have and I know that in some way God will answer them.

Love you all!

Hermana Brighton

Week 50

Dear Family and Friends,

This week has been one full of learning for me. I learned a lot about family history and keeping track of your own history when I went to a Family History Fair this past weekend. I learned a lot and am grateful for the opportunity I had to go and feel the spirit testify to me of the importance of writing my own story as well as learning about the lives and stories of others- especially family. I would like to invite everyone who reads this to write down a personal story from your life. It can be about whatever you like, but maybe something that helped shape you into the person you are/want to become now. If you'd like to send me it, I would love to receive a letter with your story. I love learning from and about others.

So I wanted to share a little about my companion cause I realized I didn't last week. Her name is Hna Kennedy and she's from Draper Utah. She is the youngest of 10 children. She is amazing at playing the piano and I hear she can play the violin super well also. She's been out 10 months and her spanish is awesome! We work well together and we are accomplishing a lot here in Yakima. I am learning a lot from her about myself so it's been super interesting and I look forward to the rest of the time we will spend together. Oh, she also has an incredible sense of direction, which is a major help to me because if you know me that is something I've always kinda had a problem with. It's okay though, because I am learning and I hope to make my weakness into a strength eventually.

I love the song Asombro Me Da (mom you're gonna have to look up the english translation cause I'm blanking). Oh.. it's I Stand All Amazed isn't it?(YES, that is right) I invite all to look up the lyrics and ponder what it means for you- the Savior and His sacrifice and strive to strengthen your personal relationship with Him.

Love you all and hope you have a wonderful week!

Love,

Hermana Brighton

Week 49

Dear Family and Friends,

I am in Yakima and I am loving it. I didn't think I'd be able to love any place as much as Royal City but I'm coming to realize that I can love these new places, because of people and experiences I have that help me grow and learn and change for the better.

This week we taught a lot of people and although not all are super interested it is still satisfying to know I'm doing all I can to spread the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am really coming to learn about and appreciate more the Atonement of Jesus Christ and His example. When we rely on the Atonement of Christ, change is real and possible but you really have to want it. That's what I think I've struggled with the most on my mission- finding people who have no desire. In the scriptures it even says that you don't have to have faith at first, just a desire to believe and then you can let that desire grow with in you... well there are too many people in this world who are just complacent with how they are and don't believe they can change. This morning we were at a members house doing laundry and there was a quote on her wall that said "If we did everything we were capable of, we would literally astonish ourselves." When I really think about this I believe it. I think we are capable of so much more than we realize but we let things like negativity, discouragement, pride, pessimism, and not believing in ourselves and so many other things get in the way of us accomplishing more. This is why its important to remember our divine potential and remember what grace is. I feel that part of it is that extra strength that comes to us when we feel like we can't go on. When we feel like there is too much being asked of us and just how are we supposed to do it all? I was reading in Believing Christ and I could really relate to an experience that the author's wife had. She just got so overwhelmed with all the demands of life and then trying to be righteous and perfect that she just wanted to give up. This is where the author then talks about Christ and His atonement and that it is because of Christ that we don't have to be perfect, that our shortcomings or failures can be overcome and made right. His perfection makes up for our imperfection. He then writes, "What matters is that through the atonement of Jesus Christ we can receive, despite our unworthiness, what we desire, what we long for- but only if it is what we really long for. So what do you want? What do you really want?" Reading that really struck me and it made me really think about my desires and what I really want in my life. One of those things I know I want is understanding and a strong testimony of Christ and His gospel. The author also shared the scripture Matthew 5:6-  Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. I now really have come to love this scripture because it has so much more meaning to me. I know it is true. There have been times where I really have struggled and truly spiritually speaking hungered and thirsted for understanding of the gospel. Because I have sought after righteousness and wanted to know truth, many times I have received understanding and answers through the scriptures and through the words spoken at church. I'm so grateful that there is always more I can learn and that God wants us to search after knowledge and He gives it to us, line upon line precept upon precept here a little and there a little.

I hope everyone has a wonderful week and that together we can continue to seek after righteousness and strive to align our will with God's will, make our desires what God desires for us.

I love you all!

Hermana Brighton