Sister Alissa Van Valkenburg Mission Blog: March 20,2018 Email :D

Smartphones?

You read that right!! We were told previously that we were getting smartphones in June...so I was like....solid. That's when I go home. I might miss the smartphone craze!!! BUT we were told that we will all be receiving smartphones in this next transfer. So that will be next month! I will have 2 transfers on my mission with a smartphone!!! Hooray! The days of getting random boxes and unreadable messages from emojis and pictures are soon to be over!! :D

Fun event of the week? We were vacuuming our apartment building for the building manager, and we managed to blow the breakers....so all the lights in the hallways went out...it was super awkward! XD We didn't run into this problem last time we did it...and we did it the same way...so who knows why they went out, but the next hour was spent figuring out how to get all the lights back on! In the process, we found the log of when all the fire alarms went off in the building and firetrucks had to come, etc. We found the log of when one of the Elders was making french toast and set off the whole building!! haha!!

I got to go on exchanges this week in my last area with Sister Muir!! It was hilarious!! Throughout the exchange, we kept forgetting that we had ever been apart, and the poor ward members were so confused!! "You're back?!?!" Hahaha! So funny!! :) We saw so many miracles!! I absolutely love exchanges!!

We celebrated pi day on the 14th = I was a happy, happy camper! (For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about, I am referring to pi=3.14 used in math to find the circumference&area of a circle. March 14th is pi day because it is 3/14 = 3/14) We bought a pie for District Meeting and enjoyed pie and pancakes together as a district. Both round. So good! Then we brought a pie to and investigator and her family. :)

Quote of the week was in Relief Society: "Please grant me patience, but please hurry!" referenced by an older lady as we had a discussion on Christlike attributes! XD So funny! I am absolutely loving these counseling sessions we are able to have as a Relief Society!! There are so many experiences and insights that each sister is able to offer! Communication is key for growing!!

During Gospel Principles yesterday, the teacher wasn't there, and we decided to have an open discussion lesson to learn from each other. We chose the topic of sacrifice, and talked about what it means to sacrifice. It was one of the most enlightening lessons of my mission! SO GOOD!!! :D I was able to learn so much from the YSA members around me and from the Spirit! It was brought to my remembrance an experience I had while I was in YSA in St. George. :) The missionaries came to our Gospel Doctrine class and talked of the story of Alma 24 when the Anti-Lehi-Nephi's bury their weapons of war. They encouraged us to write down a weapon of rebellion that we need to bury, we wrote it on a piece of paper, and buried it in the volleyball pit.
What are things that we have been asked to give up? What are our weapons of rebellion that we need to bury? As we talked in Gospel Principles this week, we brought up many temporal things (money, time, food) that we may have to sacrifice during this life to help others or come closer to God. But my mind reflected on what truly might be keeping me from coming closer to my Savior. Are there personality traits, hobbies, or little habits I have that may be keeping me just a bit further from Christ? What little pieces of the world have I allowed to become a part of me that I need to bury? The missionaries that day in YSA gave us each a picture of Jesus Christ with a paper on it that says "Have you buried your weapons of rebellion yet?" I took it with me, and have it hanging above my study desk. It's a good reminder for me each day to bury my weapons of rebellion!! :D

Just a heads up: I will be emailing AGAIN this Friday! Our Pday for next Monday is moved to this Friday because we are having Zone Conference and coming together from the 4 corners of our zone to have a pday together! So I will talk to y'all on Friday, then the next Monday! (April 2)

I love you all!! Thank you so much for being such amazing examples to me!!

love,

Sister Van Valkenburg