Dear all,
We had another marvelous whirlwind of a week. There is so much to do and so much that I never realized that happened behind the scenes of a mission. I can hardly believe the love I have come to feel for every single missionary here in the TSAM. We are absolutely on fire, and our numbers can prove it. I pray that we will STAY ABLAZE, and I have no doubt that we will. We are truly teaching repentance and baptizing converts and it is incredible to watch.
I feel like there are usually themes that I can pick out of the weeks, and this week's theme was that tender mercies are real! Events at home coupled with the responsibilities of my new assignment, topped by the stresses of every day missionary work threatened several times to overcome me. The operative word there being "me". It was incredible to see that as I did my best to turn outward, and as I enlisted the help of my Savior, all my worries and stresses seemed to melt away. I was no longer worried about myself and trying to handle everything. The Lord helped me carry my burdens by making them seem light upon my back. How great He truly is!
There are a lot of things I don't know. I do not know the square root of pi, nor how many stars are in the universe. I cannot tell you who the best major league pitcher is, or what a group of dolphins is called, but there is one thing that I do know with every fiber of my being:
Jesus Christ, my Savior and Redeemer, lives!
"Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).
My heart and soul rejoice in the absolute fact of our Father's love! I not only know it, I believe it!
I also delight in the testimonies of our living prophets, seers, and revelators. These are men chosen by God to bear testimony of His Only Begotten and to teach us the important spiritual truths necessary in order to return to the kingdom of Heaven! There is nowhere else that one can go to learn from apostles of Jesus Christ; there is no other church that possesses the priesthood power and keys necessary to direct the work of the Lord on the earth.
What a wondrous opportunity we had this weekend, to hear the pleasing word of God spoken to us by the First Presidency, members of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, and other General Authorities and Officers of the Church of Jesus Christ. To think that I was one of the tiny fraction of the world's population who took advantage of this opportunity causes my soul great joy.
Christ lives. He is the head of His church. He has chosen men (and women) to lead His children and help them understand His doctrine. We will never go wrong if we will stand with the Brethren in all that they do. This weekend served only to deepen my love of the Brethren and strengthen my resolve to follow them with exactness and without hesitation, for I know they have been called of God.
To stand with the Apostles is to stand with Christ. What a blessing to be led by such inspired men!
I am glad to say that I stand with the leaders of the church in a darkening world so that I might help spread the light of Christ.
"The soul that on Jesus hath leaned for repose
I will not, I cannot, desert to his foes;
That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,
I'll never, no never, I'll never, no never,
I'll never, no never, no never forsake!"
In this ever darkening world, we know to whom we can look for light and guidance: Christ and His chosen servants.
In the words of our beloved prophet, Thomas Spencer Monson: "May we maintain the courage to defy the consensus. May we ever choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong. As we contemplate the decisions we make in our lives each day—whether to make this choice or that—if we choose Christ, we will have made the correct choice."
Love,
Sister Waite
