It's the missionaries!!!!!!

Imagine: You are going to a home where there are three little boys (ages 3,5, and 8). These are typical little boys, running, jumping, snatching your tag and throwing it across the room to who knows where, and basically your fight or flight instincts kick in in order to survive. You knock on the door. It opens. The next thing you hear is, "IT'S THE MISSIONARIES!!!!!!!! Can I give you a hug???" Awwwwwwwwwwwwwww no one can convince me that is not the cutest thing ever.

This week has definitely been a great one. We had our share of miracles.

One miracle was on Saturday. Every Saturday we drive down to Huntington Beach to visit a less active, Addy, and an investigator, Betty, who lives with her. The problem is we only catch them every three weeks or so. This is a set appointment, same time, same place, same day every week. So it is such a hit or miss. We get down to HB and go up to the door. We knock. No answer... Uh oh. We ring the door bell. No answer... Oh please no... Knock again... You're kidding me. Fine. We start walking away from the house and lo and behold, who is walking up? Addy and her son! Whoo hooo!!! We help carry in the groceries and chat with Addy's son for a bit. We had a great lesson with Addy and she asks very intelligent questions and is very accepting. I love that woman. Afterwards we chatted with Michelle, her daughter for a bit. I'd say that it was a huge miracle. 

I have learned so much about the Atonement and about becoming Christlike this week. I knew before my mission that I did not fully understand the Atonement. I knew it would be a great learning experience on my mission to come to understand it better. But boy, I didn't realize how much I would need it. The opportunity it gives me to hand my sorrows over to Christ... There are no words to describe how wonderful the joy one can feel when they finally just hand their life to Christ and trust Him.

I have learned more about patience this week as well. My district leader assigned me a scripture to study (don't worry, it was not a rebuke... I asked.... :) ) . It was Luke 21:19- In your patience possess ye your souls. In my study of patience, I have found that patience is like a shield. It protects us from Satan's grasp as we build our Christlike attributes. When we are impatient, we lost control over our souls. Our mouths speak words we do not mean, our hearts cry false feelings, our minds thing thoughts which are not Christlike. But when we have patience, we protect our souls from actions which would require repentance, which we will later regret. So my challenge to all of you is to develop patience. It will help you become more Christlike. Faith may be the first attribute we need to develop to become Christlike, but patience is the catalyst to becoming Christlike faster.

I love you all! Have a great week! Go hug a missionary (while abiding by the rules, of course)! :)

Love,

Sister Smyly Crawford