Weekly Letter 4-13-15

Hi Everyone!

I hope you all had a wonderful spring break! This week has been pretty crazy, just like every other week. Every week I keep telling myself that the next week will be normal, but something crazy always seems to happen.  This I've become a trio again, been hit on by a girl, hugged by a drunk homeless man, hit on again, and I'm just kind of done with craziness for a while. More sanity please!!! Good thing we're headed to the beach today :)

So this Friday there was an Emergency transfer because there was a Sister who's visa expired early and she had to go back to hong kong three weeks before she was scheduled to. So Sister Poulter, one of my room mates, went to Healdsburg to replace the Sister, and now Sister Eyden, Sister Ngawharau and I are a trio covering both Brush Creek and Rincon Valley Area. We are The Rincon Creek sisters!! haha :) It's been a bit of a struggle, we found out the day of what was happening and have been trying to sort everything out ever since, but It's been really fun too :)

But during all of the craziness, there have been very spiritually uplifting moments as well. :) None of our investigators or less active members who we've been teaching have really been progressing, so we decided to have a DTR, or determine the relationship, with all of them, and so far it's turned out pretty well. With one investigator, Steve, we had an amazing lesson where we were all very unified and really followed the spirit as we invited him to pray and ask what God wants him to do. As I've been contemplating that lesson, I realized that it applies not only to Steve, but to me and to everyone else. We should really be focusing on what God wants us to do rather than what we want, because He knows best. I've been learning so much lately exactly how much God loves us, and everything he does is for our happiness and benefit, even if it may not seem like it at the time.

It's really neat to see the way that God orchestrates everything. There are times when we'll be walking down the street and talk to someone, and I'll walk away from that contact knowing that I was in that place, at that exact time, for a reason. I know that everything that happens is either for my benefit or for the benefit of those around me, and I've really been learning the importance of acting on spiritual promptings and letting God take the wheel. There's a little sign outside a church that we pass every day that says "Is prayer your steering wheel or your spare tire?" I love it :)

I shared that concept with Steve with a scripture that I had read in my studies that morning. (It was really cool to get to use something that I had learned in my studies that day!) It was a scripture from Ether. This is the story when the Brother of Jared builds the barges and they are about to set out towards the promised land. He had worked hard, built the barges, gathered food, supplies, and had everything ready to go, so they got into their barges and set out. But their barges didn't have anything to steer with.

Ether 6:4 says, "...They got aboard their vessels or barges, and set forth into the sea, commending themselves unto the Lord their God."

I thought it was so amazing that these people had so much faith that they set out into the sea with no other choice than to trust in God. The scripture hit me so hard, it applies so much to our lives now. Sometimes we just have to "commend" our lives into God's hands. The story goes on to say that the winds continually blew toward the promised land, and when they were submerged under the water, they prayed to God and he brought them back from beneath the waves, and after a year of being on the sea they finally landed in the promised land.

I know that God hears our prayers, and that if we "commend" ourselves unto God that he will always lead us in the right direction.

I love you all! I invite you to go back and read the story of the Brother of Jared in Ether, it's really good and there's  so much to be learned from it! I hope you have a wonderful week and that you continue to let God steer your lives in the right direction.

have a great week! Love you!

Love,

Sister Lesser

Mosiah 2:41

Mom:

I'm so glad that you had a great birthday! I'm sad to hear that coppermill shut down though, that's too bad...I would love to go on a trip! Any of them would be great! Cruise, hawaii, mexico, European cruise would be fun too :) haha. Someone was saying that they might turn the transfer I go home into a 5 week transfer, so I would go home the week before thanksgiving, but it's not confirmed, so I'll keep you updated. I love you! have a great week! 

PS. The first part of using time wisely is prioritizing what's most important and making the most of everything you do, because time is precious :)

Mandee:

I'm glad you had so much fun! Who were those other two girls jumping into the pool with you? I love how the picture of the prom dresses is taken in front of two mirrors that say "no pictures" haha. Your creme brule looks great! I asked for a brule torch for forever, I think dad just must trust you more than me with fire....haha. It did look very professional though, you did a great job :) So what is the next big thing coming up? are you going to be part of the shakespeare play this year? Love you! have a great week!

Dad:

Love you! It's good to hear from you! It sounds like your birthday idea was a hit, I've heard a lot about it :) Have a great week! don't overwork yourself too much!

Grandma Bowcutt:

It sounds like you're going to have a crazy busy week! have fun! Love you! Sorry, I'm running out of time to write, but I really love hearing from you every week about what's going on. Thank you for sharing your experiences with me too :) have a great week!