April 17, 2017

Brother & Sister Griessmeyer are some of the greatest people I've met!
They're such angels and tender mercies in my life. God is so good to
place them in my path. ❤️

HAPPY EASTER 🐥

EASTERS IS SPRINGING EVERYONE TO SUMMER 

I love this scripture a lot because it reminded me that we need to let go of so much to know the Savior and come close to him. We can't just come unto Him halfway.   We must do it all the way. 

Luke 18: 16-27 

16 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God.

17 Verily I say unto you, Whosoever shall not receive the kingdom of God as a little child shall in no wise enter therein.

18 And a certain ruler asked him, saying, Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?

19 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God.

20 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother.

21 And he said, All these have I kept from my youth up.

22 Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.

23 And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.

24 And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!

25 For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.

26 And they that heard it said, Who then can be saved?

27 And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.

Y'all it's like a Firecracker has ignited!  Our last district meeting & K3's misison call has made me feel like a brand new missionary again. My creative ideas and kick is back. I feel like I'm back in a HS track race (I ALWAYS had a kick @ the end. I would NEVER let someone next to me beat me! Just not who I am...a little stubborn but it's good for a person to be stubborn at times;) 

A best friend recently said, "I know you are working hard, because you are one of Rod's Girls and Rod's Girls give their all:)"

Yup I am not a quitter. I don't give up. Satan doesn't have one ounce of power over me. I've told him to go home SO many times. Still working on it though, because missions honestly are a LOT rougher than people make them out to be. I've cried so much and felt soooo down on my mission, but I've been able to do my best to work through it because of Jesus Christ and the power of his Atonement in my life. I love him and know that it's through him I can do all things. 

I really love this hymn.  It has taught me that a mission really is one of the greatest ways to get to know God and Jesus Christ.  It brings you down to your knees to fight those hard battles that you can't have help conquering anywhere else. It's reminded me that we can and will draw nearer to the Lord by not forgetting the small and simple things like personal and family scripture study and prayer. Y'all, my family wasn't always the best at it, but we did what we could. I'm not perfect either, but I do my best.  I really cannot stress enough the importance of making a time that works for you, and put it into your schedule ! JUST DO IT Y'ALL. I promise it'll make your lives happier and better. DON'T BE STUPID. DON'T let the small things slip.  

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

E’en though it be a cross

That raiseth me.

Still all my song shall be

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

2.

Though like the wanderer,

The sun gone down,

Darkness be over me,

My rest a stone,

Yet in my dreams I’d be

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

3.

There let the way appear,

Steps unto heav’n;

All that thou sendest me,

In mercy giv’n;

Angels to beckon me

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer, my God, to thee,

Nearer to thee!

Elder Pace recently said: "When you value someone else's salvation more than your own comfort then that's when you'll see success."  

And WOW it's so true. Crazy what happens when you do the things that make you stretch and get out of your comfort zone, then the miracles really do happen. 

And it continues ... Elder Pace, "The worst thing  you can have on your mission is fear."  3 things that smash fear in the face... 

1- perfect love 

2- faith 

3- looking unto Christ in everything 

And never fear anything " 

REALLY YA'LL, let's look unto Christ and let our worries be gone. 

Everyone keeps making "old people" jokes since I'm going home soon. "Oh so you go home soon.  Do you smell death? How far away is that plane?" 😑  It's seriously not funny haha. I'm like REALLY WILLIS YOU WANNA DIE TODAY? 

Milagros:

• Ken and Janice...Her mom passed away 2 weeks ago.  She literally said,  I've been searching for peace, but I don't know where to find it." 

I KNOW death IS hard! I've had a LOT of close loved ones pass away and it definetly pulls at your heart strings. YET,  because of Jesus Christ we can rise above and find happiness. If you're currently facing death,  please turn to the Lord and find peace through him. I know he will give it to you. Through Christ we are promised new life. 

• lady we called in area book ... Courtney.  She started talking to her kids about the missionaries coming and said, "hey  we owe a lot of thanks to the Mormon church." We were like "WHAT?"😂
• Stan the man : hah, he's our awesome African American investigator. He cracks me up. He makes me laugh every time we talk to him. His granddaughter Shanese is reading the Book of Mormon, too, and wants to learn more. She has some really deep and awesome questions. Some kids at school told her not to meet with us, and she stood up for the church and let them know she was gonna investigate for herself. OH MY GOODNESS wow! God is sooo good! 
• Nigerian little boy bore his precious testimony in sacrament meeting. It touched everyone. This precious Nigerian family just moved here straight from Nigeria. Here's my people, and I love them ❤
• Little 7 yr old girl talked about Mormons in her class.
• April, our investigator, said she dream of Christ helping her and following after her.  She's soooo sincere and so wanting to change. I love when the Lord prepares people. God is so good.  He loves all of us. 

And it was EASTER yesterday! Y'all I love this time of year, especially in Illinois cause everything is changing and looks so pretty. It's springing its way into summer. I love my sunshine. I could eat it up all day. I know even when life sucks we can find happiness in small things--like the sunshine--all because of Jesus Christ. He loves us. He wants us to be happy. I'm still searching for it sometimes, because life is down at times, but I know as we continue to search we will find it in Jesus Christ and His gospel. I've seen and felt it too much to deny it.  Come learn more about Him. It's great. It's greater than sleep or food or go carts or fishing. I promise! 

Love always, 

Hermana Allowitz