Oh Happy Day!

email 15 Feb 2016

Golly gee! Okay I had a little freak out moment that this is my second to last email. I'm trying not to think about it. But it just keeps going faster and faster! Ahhhhh. It's okay though. :) Well I've been super sick lately because of all this inversion. So my email may be a little lacking today because of that. It's all the pollution in the air that's trapped because it can't go anywhere because of the mountains. So we breath in all the pollution. Someone told me that if we run a mile, it's like smoking 3 packs of cigarettes. Crazy! It's been super gloomy and gross outside. I'm ready for the sun!

From http://www.cagle.com/2013/09/local-inversion-season/

Well I have a lot of fun experiences to write about this week!

Last Monday night at FHE we played with bubble balls! It's those things that are blown up and you are inside. Not the hamster looking ones. But your legs are outside of it. Well we got in them and played soccer and played sharks and minnows. Haha. I got knocked down SOOO many times. But it was really fun and bouncy! I have some battle scars that I'm proud of, too.

So this last week we had a first. We shaved someone's dog for service. And it wasn't just a dog. It was an Airedale. They're huuuuuge and curly. We didn't know that they have a specific haircut either. But the dogs hair was so thick that the clippers wouldn't go through it! It took us 4 whopping hours to shave that bad boy! It was a lot of hard work. And we were just praying that we did his haircut correctly. I definitely have a lot of respect for dog groomers, now.

We never really get a lot of the same foods, but when we do, it's all in one week. So we had spaghetti 5 times out of the 6 dinners this last week. lets just say thinking of Texas food is one of the things that's making it okay to come home soon. :)

We went on exchanges twice this week. The sisters have been having some struggles with loving the work and using things they like to do to help them cope with stress and assist in the work. So I did a lot of arts and crafts this week! We painted, colored, sang, you name it! Man, we have some AMAZING artists in our mission! Like HOLY COW. We made a lot of little cards that have quotes, scriptures, and hymns on them. Then we made copies of them to place in sacrament programs so everyone gets a little note from the sisters :). It's been really fun and the members LOVE it!

Last Tuesday we got to go on a temple trip as a mission! I love the Ogden temple so so so much. It's just beautiful. On our way back to the dressing rooms, they let us stop and take a look at the different sealing rooms they have. This may be odd, but I think the sealing rooms in the Ogden temple are my favorite. They're even more beautiful then the celestial room. But I just love what the sealing room is for. That's where eternal families are created. And that's the ultimate goal, isn't it? It's such an amazing thing. I'm so grateful to be sealed to my family forever. And I'm so grateful for my savior Jesus Christ. He, His life, and His atonement are what makes it possible. It was a wonderful temple trip. I was able to really feel Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ's love for me.

Also, HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! Yesterday we spoke in one of our YSA wards. They asked us to speak on love. Which is kind of ironic for a YSA Ward, haha. But we decided to speak on God's love. It's interesting how sometimes you have one plan in your mind, and God just changes it completely. I absolutely love it when that happens! I had the intent of speaking on the hope of God's love. But instead, I was meant to speak on how God shows His love for us by giving us trials and by chastening us. I felt kind of bad, honestly, haha. I didn't want it to come across as me rebuking them. There's a primary song called God's Love. Some of the lyrics are these:

God's Love
by Elizabeth Cushing Taylor
(link)

We do not see the wind;We only hear it sigh.It makes the grasses bendWhenever it goes by.

We do not see God’s love,But in our hearts we knowHe watches over usWherever we may go.

Of course, we can't physically see God's love. It's like the wind where we can only feel it. But also it says that the wind is there to bend the grass. So it is with God's love. We can feel His love and know it's there when we see and feel ourselves bending. I looked up the definition of Love in the dictionary. It's European root means "desire". So plugging that into the song lyrics, it says.

We do not see God’s desire,But in our hearts we knowHe watches over usWherever we may go.

Sometimes it's hard to see God's will and His desire. But as we allow Him to bend us, we will be able to feel it. And of course, bending can hurt. But it hurts more when you aren't flexible, haha. As we keep a flexible heart and allow God to bend us, we'll be happy. :) Its one of the ways God shows His love for us. And we can show it back by taking the road He has laid out for us.

It's still been a slow week. But Heavenly Father has been so gracious to allow us to see some fruits of our labors this week. Seeing answers to prayers. Whether it was our own prayers or whether it was someone else's. It was a fun week and a fun Valentine's Day. :) I hope all of you felt the love of God and of Jesus Christ. If not, search, ponder, and pray. I promise you will feel it. :) I love this work with all my heart. Don't you forget it!

Love,
Sister Sarlls