I know Christ lives, and I know this because I know Him.

Hello, hello wonderful friends and family!

I feel as though it is necessary for me to apologize for the e-mails I send out, because I realize that I am probably making some of you really jealous... and if they aren't making you really jealous they should be! Because honestly serving a mission is THE BEST thing IN THE WHOLE WORLD!!!! I'm so happy my sweet sister Malory joined me today in this awesome work! She will be the best missionary ever! England is so so blessed!!! Sorry, I'm on a super spiritual high right now, I just got back from the temple, oh man do I love that place.

I feel terrible because in years past I have judged the Provo temple immensely, I'm so sorry to say this... but I used to think it was ugly.... and that is not the case at all! The Provo temple is absolutely breath taking! Oh I could just walk around for days and days looking at all the intricate details. And don't even get me started on the spirit that is felt inside this wonderful place! P-days are the best, not because we get to write letters or e-mails (sorry!) but because we get to go the temple! The temple is such a blessing it brings me such joy and comfort. Please attend the temple regularly. I'm so sad I didn't go, as often as I could have when I had the opportunity. Please learn from me and go as often as possible! I know your life will be greatly blessed! One of the sweet Brothers working in the temple today took me by the arm and said "Thank you, thank you. I could not thank you enough for being here today. You know this only takes a few hours of your time, but it changes someone else's eternity." How true is that!? What a blessing it was to hear that. I am so grateful I can do work for those who seriously need it. I always feel their sweet spirits and it is so fun to picture them smiling at me thanking me. Oh I LOVE THE TEMPLE!!!! And I love the blessings of being a missionary! Especially when GENERAL AUTHORITIES COME!!!!

Yeah that's right! None other than the Elder Richard G. Scott was our devotional speaker last night. Such a blessing, and such an answer to my prayers! Every Tuesday the MTC is buzzing about who the speaker is going to be, because Tuesday nights are usually when someone big comes. This Tuesday was no exception, we always try to guess who it's going to be, but usually it just ends up being someone of the 70, which is super great don't get me wrong! But last night was different. Our awesome district, being as awesome as we are, have made the decision to be in every choir (it is such a blessing to have a small break from Russian, the songs are always great, and the choir director=hilarious! Choir is seriously the best!) anyways, as we were rehearsing our musical number for the night, a beautiful arrangement of Nearer My God to Thee (yes my favorite song! :) it was perfect) we see someone going around taking all of these extra security precautions, therefor we really knew it was going to be someone big. When the time finally came for the speaker to take his seat we were all holding our breaths to see who it would be. When Elder Scott walked out, I was overwhelmed. Literally hours before I was reading one of his talks on prayer, totally inspired by how powerful the talk was, I yearned to hear more from him so I looked up another talk and another one, and another one! And then he was our speaker, seriously, my life rocks!

His talk was definitely inspired. It was as though Heavenly Father was literally speaking right through him. ALL of my prayers were answered with just his one talk. He spent a lot of time praising the sister missionaries which was pretty cool, we are so loved. :) He then continued to tell us, though we will have many trials during our time serving and it will not be easy we will NEVER regret this decision. We will do things we've never before done, and we will do them with Lord's help. His talk was based on prayer. And through prayer and faith we can accomplish things unimaginable to man. He reminded us that our Father in Heaven is just that, OUR FATHER, not some scary guy who judges us when we sin or do something wrong, but a father who desires more than anything to hear the thoughts of our heart, our concerns, and our questions. He encouraged us that though sometimes we may feel as though Heavenly Father is not answering our prayers we must give praise and thanks to Him because that probably means that we are in His trust and boy does He got something great in store for us! He sometimes may withhold answers because he desires to increase our faith. Though we may not get answers we must continue our efforts in faith! Our answers may not come at the time and in the way we desire, but it will come. When you don't feel like praying that is probably when you need to the most! In our sincere efforts to give gratitude to our Father in Heaven we will be blessed with great peace and self worth. You know what is so cool to think about? How Heavenly Father is this all powerful being but He still takes the time to listen to us, not only to listen, but to talk back, and He loves doing it! So whenever you feel down on yourself, please I encourage you to keep that in mind!

Elder Scott ended his talk with an Apostolic Blessing. Amazing. He blessed those of us learning a language, that through the power of the gift and tongues we will not only learn the language but master it. He blessed us that we would be strong to over come hard times and trials. He blessed us that we would feel the love of our Father in Heaven and receive peace when we pray to Him. Then he closed his talk with a very sweet and sincere testimony. We sang the closing hymn and the sister who was giving the closing prayer went to the pulpit, but Elder Scott literally jumped out of his chair and ran to the pulpit before she could get there. We were all a little taken back by this because none of us had seen something like this before. He exclaimed "I need to say more!" He then very boldly testified that our calls are inspired. We are to serve in the exact place and in the exact time as we are called. People are there waiting for us and the Lord has prepared them. He urged us to remember the Lord has called us to succeed and not to fail. He then bore the most powerful testimony of Jesus Christ I have ever heard. I wish with all my heart I could remember every word he said though I can't do that I can remember one line which was "I know Christ lives, and I know this because I know Him." How powerful.

I want to end this e-mail with my testimony that I know Christ lives, and I know this because I know Him. He is my very best friend, especially now in times when I am away from all of those I hold nearest to my heart. I know Christ loves each and everyone of us more than we could ever imagine! And Heavenly Father is just the same. Prayer is real! I love having long conversations with my Father in Heaven each morning and each night. The 2nd counselor in my branch presidency told us we can only take one day at a time, and how should you always start your day? Prayer of course! Why would you not? Why would you not seek guidance from the all knowing? That's just silly! 

I love you all so much. I hope you feel my prayers for you. I hope you can see and feel the love of Christ and Heavenly Father
 in everything you do. Oh you all are the best! I am BEYOND blessed!

"I ran the race like I was going to win."

Hola!!!!

 So they changed my mission assignment I´m actually going Spanish speaking!... JUST KIDDING! Haha, I would freak out! Even though Russian is so so hard to learn I would not want to learn any other language!
 
Oh friends and family, things here are still GREAT like I cannot believe how spoiled the missionaries are! I just feel so bad for all of you that aren´t serving here with me ;) Just kidding.. Kind of. Like I seriously have never been as happy as I have been while I'm here. But I don't want to give people the wrong idea, like it is SUPER HARD but compared to the reward the hard work is nothing! it is so satisfying to give it your all, like Dad said on the way up here "Mariel, I ran the race like I was going to win." You'll be happy to hear I'm doing the same! I do not want to waste any precious moment of my time while I'm here so I'm trying my hardest to do my best in everything I do. It is so hard to believe that I have already been here two weeks! What the?! Like sometimes it feels like I was born and raised here in the MTC but other times I feel like I just barely got here. Anywho, all is great and I love you all so very much. Now I get to make you really jealous....
 
GENERAL CONFERENCE IN THE MTC= BEST THING EVER!!!!!!!!! Like yeah General Conference is always great, but this year, holy cow! You have no idea how cool it was to be in a room with literally thousands of stalwart missionaries. Every one was intently focused, no distractions of cell phones or any other worldy things, just us, the speakers, and the spirit, it was incredible. After every session I wanted to cry because I felt like it was going by so fast and I never wanted it to end. All of the talks this conference were amazing, please please, if you haven't listened to them I encourage you to do so now, and when the talks come out, please study them out. So many of my questions and concerns were answered during this conference and I know that the same will be done for you. :) We also got to watch the Young Women's broadcast... speechless. Totally amazing such a GOOD one. Even the boys would have loved it I have no doubt! I must admit though mom, I did shed a tear when the young woman was playing her cello. Oh how I miss listening to you practice your sweet Gorda everyday! But all is well, do not fret :)
 
So if I made you jealous, I'm sorry.... but I'm going to make you more so now. Guess who was our devotional Sunday night! None other than.... VOCAL POINT!!! We had a hard chore concert at the MTC! Okay just kidding! It wasn't a hard chore concert at all, but really so spiritual. Nothing brings the spirit more than music I think, and all of their numbers they prepared for us did that wonderfully. They are all return missionaries so it was nice for them to come and give us advice and just lift our spirits with song. Such a good devotional. And mom if you're not sitting down, you might want to do so now.. Gerald N. Lund gave our devotional last night! Are we spoiled or what?!?! Oh his talk was outstanding. It was all about revelation, the different ways we can receive it and how we should use it. He also talked about ways we can increase our revelation, one way being exact obedience. As a missionary you have A LOT of rules, sometimes it may seen silly or stupid to keep all of them, but I know they are there for a reason and I know I will be blessed by following them. Our district really looks out for each other in everything, so keeping all of the rules when you've got so much support is a cinch!
 
Okay speaking of my district.. I know I probably said this last week but I have to say it again, my district is AWESOME! Every day I love them more and more. I was so blessed to have the district I do. We have two district meetings a week, where we basically just have a testimony meeting with our district. Our zone leader came and stood in the other day and the whole time he was silent. As we closed the meeting he finally spoke up. With a lump in his throat he said "You guys are scary. I have NEVER seen or heard of a district with this type of bond, and with these strong of testimonies. You guys are scary." I knew we were good, but man, we are really good I guess! Oh man it's great! I wish I could just record a whole day for you and send it home so you could see what a day in my district would feel like!
 
K I have to hurry but I want to talk about my teachers for a split second. If you recall last weeks email we were without teachers most of our first week. But to make up for that we were blessed with THE VERY BEST teachers in the MTC... no kidding. I have learned so much these past few days with them and I am so grateful for them!
 
I have to bring my letter to a close now, but I hope you all know I love you so so so very much! I am so grateful once again for ALL of the prayers and letters, I know that is what gets me through the day. You all are the best :)
 
I know this church is true with all my heart. My testimony here is strengthened more and more everyday. I am so grateful for the Savior and His atonement and for the love of our Heavenly Father. Diligently studying out the scriptures and this new language is the greatest blessing I could have ever received!
 
Love,
Sister Lee!
 
xoxoxoxoxxo
 
P.S. I cannot not share this. After one of our lessons the other night I got super discouraged because I had completely messed up. I totally forgot so much of the Russian I knew and I was so beating myself up about it. As we were walking outside my favorite teacher, stopped me and took me aside. He could tell something was wrong and I tearfully let him know the what had happened. I told him how upset I was at myself for ruining what I thought would have been the perfect lesson. He then gave me the advice that I will now and forever hold so near and dear to my heart. He told me how the atonement does not only have to be for sins but also for silly mistakes. Like yeah I messed up, but why in the world would I dwell on it if I can just give that all up to the Savior? Please keep that in mind. I don't know why I never thought of that before. If you make mistakes whether they are big or small give them up to the Lord and I promise he will take care of them. Isn't that the best? :)

I'm Home.

Oh my blessed family and loved ones!

Okay, okay, so much to say so little time! Fist off I hope I don't offend you by saying this but... I'm home. Like I love you all so much but the MTC is where I belong, and I feel more in place here than anywhere else, and I know it will feel like that for another 8 weeks and 6 days but when the the time comes for me to get to the wonderful land of Ukraine that will be home to me! The only thing that I have to complain about here is the fact that you guys cannot come and experience this with me!

It is absolutely incredible here! The spirit... holy cow is SOOO strong! Like every morning I walk outside and I think to my self "Wow the air feels really thick today.... yeah with the spirit!" It is such a blessing to be here when missionary work is such a huge thing! The place is PACKED!!!! Everywhere you look you see wonderful soldiers in God's army and it is the coolest thing. Both the Elders and Sisters walk around with such a bounce in their step, a smile on their face, with purpose in their stride and the amazing light of Christ in their eyes!

Everyday has been such an adventure here, and I have loved every second. I'm not just saying that! Like everyone was telling me "the first few days are really hard, but if you get to Sunday you'll be fine!" Umm... I hate to break it to you but I've been fine this whole time! You guys are a bunch of babies!!! ;) Just kidding! But seriously the Lord has blessed me so much while I've been here. Like the second I start to get like a sliver of homesickness Elder Brad Hauck (friend from High School) will pop his head in just to shake my hand and talk to me for a second, or I'll turn the corner and randomly bump into Elder Mason Paxman (also friend from High School), or Hermana Kiera Wright (friend from High School) will sneak up behind me and give me a much needed tight hug! Obviously Dixie High is repping here and it is legit! My district hates me because I always see people I know and they get so jealous! Haha I love it, I love my friends and the amazing examples they have been to me.

The first few days of the MTC were total crazyness! Due to the HUGE amount of missionaries teachers are scarce. Our district didn't actually have a real teacher until yesterday... so we have been teaching ourselves. It has been really cool to see our progression. Yeah it has been stressful, because we've been teaching an "investigator"... in Russian... since Friday. Crazy? Ya! So I would just go in and say Russian words than English words, pray that I would have the spirit with me and hope for the best. But now we have a teacher and I'm learning SO MUCH!!! My district is the best ever!! Missionaries from other districts would come in and literally be blown away by the bonds that we already have. At the end of the first day we were talking to each other like we've been friends for years! All the other districts in our building always tell us how jealous they are of the unity we have. So that is always really cool!

Okay now for the spiritual stuff. Disclaimer: some of this will blow your mind, Heavenly Father is amazing and some of these things may be too awesome to handle!

So the first day we came in we did a lot of orientation stuff. We went to little fireside type thing where we were welcomed by the MTC presidency and they spoke briefly to us. One thing that really stuck out to me in this meeting was a promise given to us by the President's wife she said "When you were set apart as a missionary, you were set apart from the world." What an amazing blessing! With all the filth and stupid things going on in the world, I'm so grateful that I don't have to be apart of it for at least 18 months.

Easter Sunday in the MTC. BEST THING OF MY LIFE!!!! We had the presiding bishop of the church and his wife come and speak to us. They came for sacrament meeting so they wanted us all to be in the room with them. We all packed into the "great and spacious building" auditorium... and some into the overflow and we all partook of the sacrament together! over 3,000 people at one time taking the sacrament! I wish you could have seen the elders, how reverently they went about making this ordinance as spiritual as it could be. It was incredible, and the spirit there, I cannot even describe. The bishop talked a lot about Easter and the resurrection of Christ and his sweet wife did the same. It was so good to not think about Russian for just a little while and just soak in every thing he had to say. I take super good notes on everything so when I get home we'll just go through all of my notebooks because my time is so limited on the computer! Sorry! But that night we had Sister Sheri Dew come and talk to us, and can I say wow? The focus of her talk was Christ isn't our second chance he is our only chance and I know that to be true!
So I wanted to share this story for last, because it is the thing that has inspired me the most since I have been here. There is and Elder in our district, Elder Jones, he's a young one, 18 turning 19 pretty soon. But anyways the first few days we were here at the MTC I told you our district immediately clicked and came together! But Elder Jones was having such a hard time! I tried everything I could to help make him feel included but nothing was working. You could tell he was super depressed all the time and while all of us were struggling with the language he was REALLY struggling... He couldn't say words that we have known how to say or days. It was so hard for me to see him struggle like this, and I kept wondering why. Every time I prayed I included him in my prayers asking Heavenly Father to just help him feel love and peace! But Friday night as we were all beginning our planning an Elder came in and told Elder Jones it was time for him to get set apart. "Get set apart?!?!" I thought "Oh duh!!!" Before he walked out the door I went up to him and promised him this is exactly what he needed and from now on he will be successful. With a hesitant smile he left the room to get his blessing. As he left I began thinking of how hard the last few days must have been for him! I could never have done the things I did the first few days with out the beautiful blessing that President Sullivan gave me or the sweet one that dad gave me before I left. How grateful I am for those blessings, thank you! I didn't see Elder Jones again that night but the next day I did and what a change!It was like night and day! Now he is the most friendly elder in our district he is our district LEADER and he is learning Russian just as fast as the rest of us!

The Priesthood is amazing, blessings do such great things that we ourselves cannot. I am so grateful for the opportunity that I have to bring this joy to others.

I want to end this email with a small testimony. I know this church is true! Why else would I leave my amazing family and friends?? HE LIVES!!! Christ died for us, but it didn't end there, He is risen He is risen! I am so grateful for Him and His love and sacrifice for us. I want to boast a little now... I can speak Russian.. like, kind of good. I am bearing my testimony in Russian and I am praying in Russian, I'm reading Russian, and I am talking to people in Russian, and Russian isn't easy, it's like way hard. I've only been here for like 6 days and I can do these things. But I say these things just like Ammon says in Alma 26:11-12 "I do not boast in my own strength nor in my own wisdom; but behold my joy is full, yea my heart is brim with joy and I will rejoice in my God. Yea I know that I am nothing as to my strength I am weak; therefor I will not boast of myself, but I will boast of my God, for in His strength I can do all things;... for which I,(Mariel) will praise His name forever."! I have no doubt in my mind that I am doing all of these things because of the Lord. There is NO WAY I could learn this language as fast as I am without His help.

You all are the best, I love you more than you'll ever know! Thank you for your prayers, I can feel them and they are such a blessing, thank you! Thanks for the letters, I look forward to mail time everyday so keep them coming! :)
The church is true! Keep up the good work everyone love you so much!
Love,
Sister Mariel Lee
xoxoxoxoxoxo

Sister Lee's farewell talk. Given March 17, 2013.

Brothers and sisters I cannot believe this day has finally come. I thought it would be eternities before I got to this point but now I’m actually here and it is crazy! I remember when I was growing up and I was in primary we would sometimes play the game name that tune during sharing time. And I would always get so bugged with everyone because they would guess my song before I even whispered it into the pianist’s ear. If I was smart I probably would have chosen a different song every once and awhile, just to throw everyone off, but I really couldn’t help it. “I Hope They Call Me on a Mission” was by far my favorite song. I loved singing it and the feeling it gave me. Being in primary I was still young and a naïve so while I was singing that song I didn’t know exactly what missions were like, but I did know that when I sang, or maybe more of screamed the words of the song I was filled with excitement of the possibility that maybe someday I could teach and preach and work like missionaries do. And now, years later, I’m standing here before you at the beginning of making one of my biggest dreams come true.

My heart is so full being here today, having the opportunity to share my testimony with so many of my friends and family is such a blessing. I hope and pray that while you’re here at this meeting you will be able to feel the spirit testify to you that what I say, I know is true. I also hope and pray that if you can’t remember anything from the talk I am about to give I hope you can remember my testimony that I KNOW Heavenly Father loves you, each and every one of you. I know that.

I think some people have the wrong idea about Heavenly Father, and though I am not perfect or anywhere close to it, I would like to try to clear that up as well as I can. I feel like people think of God as only a judge, that He is always there watching your mistakes, just waiting for the time to call you out. I remember in seminary a few years ago my teach used an awesome analogy for what Heavenly Father is like. He said something along the lines of; “Though many people think that God is like an umpire in a baseball game, watching to call you out, He’s actually the coach, cheering you home.” I think of all the awesome coaches I have had in my life, whether it be for volleyball or basketball, my school teachers, church leaders, family, or just people supporting me and giving me help through this journey of life. But my number 1 favorite coach will always be my Heavenly Father, because though he’s seen me make many faults, He’s still letting me play in this game and He’s cheering me on every step of the way.

I know sometimes it can be hard to understand that someone so perfect like Him can love somebody so imperfect like me. But it’s true. We would not be here today if it weren’t for His love for us. I look at this beautiful world that we are so blessed to live in and I have no doubt of His love for us. There is a hymn that is called God is Love and it goes like this:

“Earth with her ten thousand flowers,

Air, with all its beams and showers,

Heaven’s infinite expanse,

Sea’s resplendent countenance

All around and all above

Bear this record: God is love.”

Some of my family and I went biking through Snow Canyon State Park yesterday and it was gorgeous, absolutely breath taking as I looked around and saw all the things that He created I could not help but think “God is Love”.

I love to think about the fact that our Heavenly Father who has everything we could ever wish for, would not be completely happy unless I was happy, or any of you . He cares for us so much that he created a perfect plan for us and has promised to help us every step of the way. If we follow this plan, doing the best we can, enduring to the end we will return to live with our Father in Heaven in perfect happiness.

Enduring in this telestial world, where so many things can go wrong, can be hard. So hard in fact that we may feel that we are on our own, possibly just as Joseph Smith felt in Liberty Jail as he asked Heavenly Father “O God, where art thou? And where is the pavilion that covereth thy hiding place?”

I had the incredible opportunity to visit Nauvoo a few weeks ago, we went to the sights, heard many stories of the pioneers, and got a little glimpse of what possibly our lives would be like if we lived with them. While you are in Nauvoo it is near impossible to not think of the pains and suffering that all of them went through. They were doing the Lord’s work trying to build Zion, yet they were despised and treated horribly, Joseph Smith getting the worst of the treatment. My heart aches when I think of the things that Joseph Smith went through. I feel like I understand why Joseph felt that Heavenly Father was so far away from him at this time. But President Henry B. Eyring councils us that “In the moments of pain, loneliness, or confusion, we do not need to see Jesus Christ to know that He is aware of our circumstances and that His mission is to bless.” I know this is true, with all my heart. I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for all of His children and though things might not fall according to your plan, that is probably because His plan is like a million times better. I learned this in my own life, very recently actually.

Last year I was a senior in high school. When it came time to fill out college applications I yearned to get away and have a “true” college experience. As I studied out all of my different options for colleges I started to get discouraged. I found many colleges that sparked my interest, I prayed for each college trying to decide which one would be best for me, but I kept getting the answer no for all of them. I was a little frustrated with the idea of not getting away, but I didn’t know what else to do. I applied to Dixie State and that is where my applications stopped. I remember my oldest sister kept encouraging me to apply to many other colleges, but to her disappointment and my own, I didn’t. Months went by, I graduated from high school, and soon after that I was starting college. I thought my life would make more sense once I was working toward my career in school, and I would have a better attitude about things. But if anything college just made it worse. This was really weird for me, because I’ve never not liked school. I’ve always been a girl who enjoys most of my time in school, making friends with everyone in my classes, including my teachers, getting good grades and everything. But that wasn’t how the college me was.

Frustrated I would often turn to Heavenly Father in prayer asking Him “What should I be doing with my life?” I just felt so useless. I had so much to offer but I wasn’t doing anything helpful. There was a point when I too felt like Heavenly Father was hiding behind a pavilion. Like he didn’t really care what I was doing with my life. But I never stopped praying. In my frequent prayers little by little I was getting answers though I wasn’t aware of it.

Finally it was conference weekend. Before every session of conference I pray for something that I need, whether it be for my testimony to be strengthened, a question to be answered, or whatever it may be. Before this conference session, I believe I prayed with more intent than I ever have before. I asked Heavenly Father “Where do I go with my life? What do you need me to do?” I knew that if He gave me an answer I would do all in my power to live the life that He had chosen for me. And just minutes later my prayer was answered.

There was no doubt in my mind that serving a mission is exactly what I need to be doing now. Now that I knew what I need to be doing, everything else made so much more sense. I realize that if I had gone away to school, I might have actually enjoyed it a lot and possibly not wanted to serve a mission, and with the expense of moving away and paying for rent on top of tuition, I wouldn’t have been financially stable to serve.

In the months leading up to the announcement I have never had a stronger desire to serve. Though I thought I would not be able to serve a mission for a few more years, I found myself preparing both spiritually and physically. I often confided in my mom how I so desired to go through the temple and get my endowments out, I just wanted to be there all the time. I found myself being very picky with the new outfits I would buy, being very careful that I could continue to wear them after I had gone through the temple. And my testimony was the strongest it had ever been to that point. I was ready to serve.

In college my favorite teacher was my English teacher, though English was always my least favorite subject it was the only class I actually enjoyed in college. She was a great teacher and one of our major assignments was to keep a journal for her class. We could write about whatever we wanted as long as it was for 10 minutes for 3 nights a week. I would like to read my journal entry for October 5, 2012, which was the night before conference and the huge announcement. It reads…

Journal Entry From October 5, 2012:
 “Yes! It is nearing general conference time and I am so excited! Conference is always something I look forward to. It always gives me the strength to carry on and continue to do my best in every way that I can. I love how inspired the great men and women of the church are. It honestly is so amazing to me the incredible doctrine I have the privilege to learn and know about. Gosh, I just wish everyday we could have general conference, I feel like this life would be so much easier to live! But then again I guess the scriptures are kind of like our own general conference that we can learn from everyday! Haha sorry.. I bet this is weird for me to write about… I don’t know I just love my church so much I seriously have such an appreciation for it and the joy it brings into my life. I can’t wait ‘til someday possibly having the opportunity to serve a mission and bring all this joy to someone else! Gosh I wish I could go now! But the Lord has His timing for everything so I will be patient.”

The next day the announcement was made. I got everything done as fast as I could and exactly a month later, on my 19^th birthday my papers were submitted. Brothers and Sisters I know Heavenly Father had this plan for me from the very beginning. President Henry B. Eyring said “God is close to us and aware of us and never hides from His faithful children” I know this to be true. There have been many times in my life where I have felt His insurmountable love for me, and those times I hold very dear to my heart.

I testify to you that Heavenly Father knows each of you and loves you more than you can imagine. President Uchtdorf once said, and I want you all to remember this. He said “Just think of it: You are known and remembered by the most majestic, powerful, and glorious being in the universe! You are loved by the King of infinite space and everlasting time!” Just think of it.

I know this life can be challenging and there will be times when you feel that you are alone, nobody knows what you’re going through, but that is never the case. My very favorite scripture is Exodus 14:14 which reads “The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.” Never are you alone in this battle. You have Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ on your side! Like your team is stacked! Never forget who you are fighting for, and who you are fighting with.

I am so excited to be a missionary, so excited to be at the front lines of this battle. I cannot wait to share the love of our Heavenly Father with the people of the Ukraine. I know with out a doubt that, that is where I am supposed to serve and I cannot wait to get out there. I’m so thankful for the support that I have been given in this time preparing for my mission. I am grateful for the examples of my friends serving before me and the friends who are following close behind me.

I know this church is true with all of my heart and I can’t wait to get out there and testify of the truthfulness of it! I love you all so very much and I say these things, in the name of Jesus Christ amen.

Where the magic began... :)

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