We got Sister Munson back from the English program! Yay! We have all our ASL kids again! :)
We
had some pretty great experiences with our CODA girls this week. Can I
just express how much I love those girls? I am pretty sure we went over
there almost everyday after school to help them with their homework. At
first that sounds like a pretty pointless job, right? Why are we wasting
time with helping with middle school and high school homework? But you
know what? This week alone has changed those girls more than I have ever
seen. When I first arrived here in Anaheim, those girls were completely
different. Ashley would talk to Sister Pendleton some, ignore the rest
of us. Adriana, sass master, who would not talk to anyone. Alisa would
be on her phone talking to her boyfriend and no one else. Now, it is
completely different. They are all super excited to see us the second we
walk through the door and start chatting almost without taking breaths
between sentences. They immediately trust us with their high school boy
drama. They are more and more willing talking about gospel related
subjects (which was impossible before). In fact, when we were talking
about the boy drama, Adriana pipes up and asks me if she should say a
prayer. WHAT. Yes! Yes you should say a prayer!! And she did! Right then
and there! And later too! Ashley asked for a blessing when Elders Peck
and Duckworth mentioned it. That has never happened! Sister Stucki was
chatting their friend, Jasmine, later and as they were teaching, they
got on the subject of the Atonement. Jasmine was in tears. She is
becoming more and more converted to the gospel without realizing it. No
one can tell me that simple acts of service, such as helping with
homework, do not have a great impact on people.
On
a related subject of how service impacts people... This Sunday I had
the opportunity to teach Young Women class. We had our wonderful Annie
in there, and another cute girl from out of town. The lesson was on
Jesus Christ. One of the questions that was asked was, "What does it
mean that Christ lives?" Well, we could say that He is a man with a body
somewhere, who has been resurrected in glory. But it is more than that!
Christ lives through us. As we live as "example[s] of the believers,"
we shine our light and testimony for others to see. Our light of Christ
shines from us, and no one can ignore that light. I give an example of
my wonderful mission president, President Taggart. I know whenever he
walks into the room, because it gets brighter. It is not hard to find
him in the crowd, because he just shines with the light of Christ. He is
one of the most Christ-like people I know. And guess what? We all have
that light too! Our friends, our family, the people we randomly meet on
the street, their spirits are attracted to our light. So shine that
light! Share your beliefs! Be thou an example of the believers! Through
your actions an your service, you can change another person's life for
the better. You can be a person's savior in that moment.
I love you all! Have a fantabulous week and make sure you share your testimony with at least one person this week! :)
Sister Smyly Crawford
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