Macey Gates: Sister Macey Gates // Week Fifty-Five

This week was amazing. I have never been so busy, felt so much love, or seen so many miracles in one week. To start off my week I had another baby!! I didn't have to push for too long before i knew who she was haha we were in a meeting and right after President pulled me aside and said that he was going to put me with Hermana Lindsey. He said "She has been through a lot. She has had cancer, skin cancer, she has anxiety and depression, and its not good when she gets stressed. Will you be her companion?" Of course i said yes. Then everyone else found out later who their companions were. She is amazing. She is teaching me more than i think i'm teaching her and i'm totally okay with that. She speaks spanish like a champ, she speaks way better than she understands but i'm am so impressed!! This week we have been so busy!! This week we put like 5 people on date, that is crazy!! 2 of them fell off date cause they didn't come to church, but we have some solid people. La familia Vargus brought their sobrino to church and after sacrament meeting i went up to him and asked if we could go visit him, he said he is too busy. Then after gospel principles class i felt like i needed to ask again and he said yes, he said he feels safe, like he can believe in something. So that night we went to the Vargus' house and put him on date for the 30th! Mostly every person we put on date wasn't from this big gigantic spiritual lesson, but from a little message and just simply asking them to follow the example of Jesus Christ and be baptized. The gospel is simple! One simple question, action, or comment can change everything. I cannot help but be so grateful for this opportunity i have to serve, in the best mission in the whole wide world. SO MANY people are ready to hear the gospel. Its been really awesome for me, to be training again. Sometimes lessons are hard cause i have to do them by myself, cause Hermana Lindsey cant understand, or zones out(it happens haha) But i have seen the gift of tongues work. I love these people with all my heart and I only want the best for them.

This week as I was studying I really thought about the trials that we have and why we go through them, so i read some talks and some scriptures. I started reading in D&C 121:7-8 which talks about our afflictions will be but a small moment, and if we endure it will be well we will be exalted on high. This is when Joseph Smith is in Liberty Jail. And then i continued to read D&C 122. And it had a lot of "if" statements and it made me think of all the if statements we make. Como if i fail my test, if i get rejected talking to someone about the gospel.
In this chapter there is 15 if statements. And then at the end of vs 7 it says "know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." I know that everything we go through is for our good, to give us experience. Then in vs. 8 it says "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? We will never suffer the amount that Christ suffered. And then in vs 9 it says "Fear not what man can do, for God shall be with you forever and ever" WE ARE NEVER ALONE:) Then D&C 123:17 states something so powerful, but so simple: Do your best and the Lord will do the rest. I know that we go through different things for a reason. What God wants for us isn't always what we want, but its always going to be for our good, and for our opportunity to grow. I love this quote "Joseph knew that if he were to stop going forward with this great work, his earthly trials would probably ease. But he could not stop, because he knew who he was, he knew for what purpose he was placed on earth, and he had the desire to do Gods will." When life gets tough, just keep swimming!! Its like Finding Nemo, nemo gets caught by a scuba diver, so of course his dad goes to look for him. He meets Dori, and they go through all these obstacles. There is one thing that Dori always says: Just keep swimming, just keep swimming! I know that we will be more blessed if our faith isn't to change circumstances, but to endure them. Never doubt your faith. Doubt your doubts before you doubt your faith. I love you all so much!! I hope you have such a great week:)

Love Hermanita Gates:)