Hello hello!!
Happy (almost) Thanksgiving everyone! Aside from my adoration of yummy food, I really do love this time of year so much. Gratitude is a sure way to bring the spirit so naturally a time of year dedicated to giving thanks is sure to brighten everyone's mood. Festivities are in full swing and we are super excited to spend Thanksgiving with our Ward Mission Leader and his family this year. Man. So many happy feelings :)
This week was a humbling week for us. As with all other weeks, I have continued to learn so much about my Savior, His Atonement, and the unique plan He has for each of us. So often I fall into the trap where I want the Lord to submit to my will. However, when we submit our will to His, that is when miracles come to pass. I am grateful to have a Heavenly Father who loves me enough to give me those lessons to learn because those lessons are the ones that change my heart and make me more of what Heavenly Father who have me be.
On Monday, we went to the doctor for Sister Henderson's shoulder. They put her in physical therapy for a few weeks and then she is going to consult an orthopedic surgeon to see if surgery is necessary. So, we will have more definite answers about her shoulder in the middle of December. Fingers crossed that everything works out! That night, we taught a boy named William with Abbie. He was so sweet. He really wants to find what will bring him peace and comfort in his hard family situation. Abbie bore a powerful testimony of the Book of Mormon and her experience with it. That girl seriously continues to amaze me. He accepted a baptismal date but he doesn't have a phone that works well so we haven't been in contact with him since then. We are planning on heading over there this week and getting some better contact information so we will keep y'all posted on him.
On Tuesday, we did service for a member in our Ward. She is the sweetest lady and she had 8 dachshunds! It was super fun/therapeutic to play with them after we had helped her clean for guests this week. We also had a lesson with a less active in the Ward that we call Momma Chicken (Sister Israelsen came up with that one haha). She is getting herself to church and doing really well. We mostly just see her once a week for support now but she is hilarious so we always love when we can see her.
Wednesday was Zone Conference. I absolutely love Zone Conferences. We combined with the New Albany Zone this time around. The new Albany zone leaders gave an amazing training on using the Book of Mormon as our main source for conversion. This was a training that I really needed. Usually, I catch myself just teaching the Preach My Gospel doctrine and then using the Book of Mormon to back me up. However, I learned that it needs to be the other way around. We should be teaching all of the doctrine from the Book of Mormon and other standard works and then testify of the truthfulness. To aid me in this change of habit, an elder gave me a list of all the references from Preach My Gospel and showed me how he marked them all in his BOM so that he could reference them more easily. It's so helpful! The Book of Mormon is so true and it really does contain the fullness of the everlasting gospel. As we use the Book of Mormon is our everyday life, we will not fall because our foundation will be rooted in the Savior :)
On Thursday, we had Sister Henderson's first physical therapy appt. He said that the physical therapy should help but that there is no telling if it is bad enough to get surgery until they do an MRI. Again, totally hoping everything is ok!! After that, we missed our bus. The reason I am telling you that is because it ended up being a miracle! We ran into this boy on our walk home that Sister Israelsen and I ran into twice while she was here. We taught him while he waited for his bus and the Spirit was so strong. I ended up giving him my reference Book of Mormon that I talked about above but it was so helpful because I knew exactly where the scriptures were. Then, after we taught him, Abbie and her mom picked us up randomly and gave us a ride home. Heavenly Father works in mysterious ways!! Sometimes, we may get caught thinking about the negative things in life. However, if we keep the mentality that everything happens for a reason, we see miracles and Gods hand more than ever. That night, we had a sisters Skype call. We talked about the qualities of a successful missionary and how important it is to involve the Lord in every aspect of the work. I love Skype calls so much because I learn SO MUCH from these amazing sisters. I hope I can acquire all of their amazing attributes one day because they truly emulate Christ with all that they do :)
On Saturday, we got to rake leaves for our Ward mission leader and it was so fun!! Fall is seriously gorgeous here but it also 'leaves' a huge mess ;) (see what I did there?? 
) Our Ward mission leader is the bomb. I call him my Kentucky dad because he watches out for us like we are his kids. After we raked, we went to a member's house for dinner. We had an amazing discussion with him about patience and hard work. He opened up to us a lot about his life and the trials that have made him who he is today and I was so grateful for it. Sometimes, when you are going through hard things, you feel as if you are all alone. It is such a tender mercy to hear advice from someone who also understands that life is hard and who has a deep understanding of the Atonement and the grace of the Savior. Heavenly Father is so very aware of each and every one of us and the hard things that plague us every day. There are angels that He sends from both sides of the veil to pick us up and strengthen us. I have seen this multiple times on my mission, and in life in general. Angels truly are round about us, bearing us up. As we trust in the Savior and His grace, we will make it through any trial. Patience is almost always involved, but when we trust in God and His beloved Son, things will ALWAYS work out.
Yesterday was a miracle day. Lucas, Sarah Janes brother, has been impossible to get to church ever since we started teaching him. We would try and try and try to wake him up but to no avail. Yesterday, when we went to go pick up Sarah Jane, she was at a friends house unable to go and Lucas was in bed. Determined to leave the Grim house with at least one of the children (since we had walked there in freezing cold weather) we went into Lucas's room and didn't leave until he was up. He came to church and absolutely loved it! Not only did he love it, but when we went back that night to see Sarah Jane, he asked to say both prayers in the lesson. And, he told us that he is going to read the Book of Mormon every day. In his prayer, he expressed more of a faith in God and a desire to learn more about Christ than I have ever heard. He wants to come to church every Sunday now. Who knew?? All he needed was to feel the Spirit and meet some friends at church and his whole outlook on the gospel changed. Heavenly Father and the Savior are in the details of this work and these miracles constantly leave me humbly in awe :)
I love you all. I hope you have an amazing Thanksgiving week. As I have contemplated what I am most grateful for, one thing stands out in my mind above all else. I am eternally grateful for the Atonement of my Savior, Jesus Christ, and His grace that He offers me each and every day. Because of His pure love, I can be with my family forever. I can overcome fear, doubt, and sin. I can find joy and happiness no matter the circumstance. I can share with others glad tidings of great joy. I have peace and comfort and an eternal perspective. All the blessings that I am grateful for are possible or in some way connected to Him. I love Him and hope to one day stand in His presence with my family and all those that I love as He says to us "Come unto me, ye blessed, there is a place prepared for you in the mansions of my Father". (Enos 1:27) What a joyous day that will be!!
Have a great week. I love you all!
Love,
Sister Dorian
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