Sorry, you are just now getting a birthday wish from me. I should have sent you a letter or card or something. I'm sorry. I'm terrible...It's just like another world here though, ya know? I've never been so busy and so focused on one purpose. Please do something fun for yourself for me okay? Or eat something yummy. I know, make something new and delicious from Pinterest and listen to Michael Buble and dance while doing it okay? Deal :) I love you guys so much. Please know that. I just love you both beyond words. I wish I could reach through the computer and hug and squeeze you both and kiss your beautiful faces! Thank you so much for being such amazing people and amazing parents. I can't tell you how full my heart becomes when I talk about you two. You each have so many talents and strengths, SO MANY. I am beginning to realize that people are soooooo hard on themselves. I thought it was just me, and that most other people were totally awesome and knew it haha. Boy was I wrong. People are so awesome and talented and pure and beautiful, yet I have found that everyone seems to think they are just plain worthless! What is that all about?! We have got to stop degrading ourselves, because that is like saying God didn't' know what He was doing when He tried to make us. No, God doesn't make mistakes and He doesn't doesn't make anything worthless. We have infinite worth and infinite light within us. So much is hidden far too deep inside us. Something that I have been talking to another sister about is inner light. You see, we all have so much light within us, and light is everything. It is power. It is life. It is pure and it is of God. It lifts us and others and exceeds mortal and comprehensible limitations. And yet, with all it's power and influence and ability, light is very easily contained, blocked or hidden. It can travel millions of light years and literally heat an entire planet, yet all we have to do it put our hand in front of the source and we can make a shadow. Despite the potential of light, it can be blocked with very little effort, and it cannot force itself through. So, back to people, we all have light within us. In fact, most of us have far more than we even knew was possible, yet it almost seems as if we are working to keep it contained. Shame and guilt and self-defeat act as shades and curtains and boxes that block in our light, and don't allow it to shine. The scriptures tell us to "let our light so shine', and when we do this we will not only give light to others, but the light that shines through will literally change our countenance and help us to see our own worth. People are beautiful, all of them, inside and out. We need to recognize that. Christ asked us to be meek, not self-loathing. Christ was humble, yet He never denied His divine worth as the Savior of mankind and the Son of God. I think if I were to give Christ a compliment face to face, He would gratefully smile, thank me, and then tell me something good He saw in me as well. You see, let us lift one another instead of pulling our own selves down. God has never asked us to beat ourselves up and it doesn't please Him when we do. He wants us to recognize our inner worth, for we are HIS masterpiece after all. YOU are a masterpiece of infinite worth and potential. We all have light that we are hiding and blocking within ourselves. Move the curtain. Lift the shade. Let it shine and see the light within, so that you can share it with others.
Lots has happened this week. Lots. What's new right? We are keeping so busy, yet I still feel like sometimes we can't keep up! Mike, our miracle, is doing so amazing. He is the most genuinely innocent and tender person ever. He came to church and told us he wished he could stay for ten more hours. He is also a gourmet chef, and he tries to feed us every day! I literally had to tell him he wasn't allowed to sign up for every day on the missionary calender. Oh, and let me tell you, it's like a restaurant every meal! He watched every session of conference, and loved every second of it. He kept saying, wow, it just all relates so much to me. It's amazing. He told me that he feels like a new person that is starting a new life. I told him, "Oh just wait til you're baptized. Then you really will be a totally new person." How exciting and beautiful. Baptism is such an amazing opportunity to start fresh and have an even deeper relationship with God. I know it's not necessary, but I almost wish I could get baptized again, just so I would appreciate it as much as I should have when I was eight. Yay for the sacrament though, where I can start fresh and remake those covenants every week. Even more, Mike is so caring and protective of us. In fact, he was a body guard in the past for some celebrities and he always offers to be our bodygaurd haha. We actually let him help us out this week when we met with Steve and Rod in the park. They are alcoholics and homeless and a whole lot of other stuff, but they really do want to improve and change. We always make sure to meet in the park, where it's open and public, but this last time, we had just finished eating and teaching Mike, so he walked us to the park and sat on a nearby bench for 2 hours! Even more, he listened to the Book of Mormon on his ipod the whole time! What a boss. Seriously, I don't know where this guy came from, but he can stick around. It was pretty funny at the end though, because Rod (who drinks nd smokes DURING our lesson....baby steps right?) saw us talking to Mike after our lesson and thought we were in danger, so he came over to "protect" us....as well as a slightly buzzed little man can do. Well, we told him Mike was our friend, and he said, "Oh! I'm sorry, I saw you with a strange man and thought I was going to have to come beat him up." Then Mike goes, "Oh, I don't think so.".......and they did their man stance at each other, you know, where so much is being exchanged without words. Well, you could have cut the tension with a knife. I had never seen Mike like that, and it was so funny! They both wanted to be the protectors of the sisters, and neither of them fully trusted the other. Men sometimes haha. So, don't worry, we are well taken care of, since we quite literally have a personal chef and body guard now. Our investigator Jesse is also doing well. He is 15, and he told us we make learning about the gospel fun. YAY! that is such a great thing to hear, because the gospel IS fun and happy. If it's boring to study, then change something now, because it's not supposed to be boring. Okay I gotta run, but I LOVE YOU ALL. Please forgive me for not writing as promptly. It's so busy and there are soo many letters to write AAAAAHHHH!
Okay, take care, smile, and let your light shine. See the beauty in yourself, because I [promise it's there.
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