Kalene's Mission Blog

Kalene's Mission Blog

Monday, March 14, 2016

An Easter Message

Oh man, I'm so jealous that I'm missing a crazy storm back home. Mom may be growing sick of the rain but I love it. We did get a storm down here too but it's not quite the same as back home. Storms back home mostly feel wet; a storm down here mostly just feels humid.

Wow, it's already the start of my fourth week in the mission field. I've realized that one of the newest things for me has probably been my budget. Because I worked so much in high school and worked through college and chose to stay with family to save money, I've always had enough money to get whatever I wanted whenever I wanted and not really have to worry about how much money I had. Now I REALLY have to budget because I only have the money to get the things that I have to. I can't just get McDonalds just because I'm craving it. A meal there is $6 which could be spent on two packages of noodles and a jar of spaghetti sauce which lasts me more than one hamburger happy meal. It just goes to show that people don't realize they're privileged until they see it from the other side.

I've already been on an exchange. Since S.McCleery is an STL she has to do a companion swap with all the sisters that she's over. All four of them. Not just an exchange with each companionship but she has to be companions with each of the sisters for a day and President Hall asked her to do it before transfers. So we did an exchange this last week with the sisters in Angleton; S.Waite came to Friendswood to be with S.McCleery and I went out to Angleton to be with S.Hawkins. S.Hawkins and I got along really well because we had a lot in common but I'm sure because we have so much in common would rub each other a lot quicker than if we're paired with someone who has more differences (you know how it is, when you're with someone so much like you some of your own attributes shown in them make you doubly angry because you don't like to notice those things about yourself). We also have an exchange scheduled tomorrow with the Bay City sisters and the STL over us wants to do an exchange this Thursday. And then we'll do another exchange with the Angleton sisters next week and then it will be the Bay City sisters again. So, this month is going to be rather busy.

Tyrone is still on track to be baptized this Saturday. As S.McCleery and I were looking at everything we had to plan for a baptism, I realized how much goes into it: the program, music, prayers, talks, intermission etc. So we've got to get all of our ducks in a row for that this week.

We also just started the Easter initiative we were given 500 cards and asked to try and place all of them by general conference. S.McCleery and I have decided we can do this and save miles by driving out to the central point of group of members with our bikes. Park and then bike between member homes stopping and talking to anyone we encounter and knocking on the homes around a member if the member isn't home (which is the only time we're allowed to do door to door proselyting). That way we'll meet new people and be able to see some less actives and be able to get active members excited about sharing the message to.

The video associated with the Easter campaign can be found on followhim.mormon.org for those of you who haven't seen it. The video talks about how following the savior grants us new life but also promises us that someday we and everyone we love can be resurrected. It's amazing how much the Atonement does for us. I think we sometimes forget how INFINITE the Atonement is. I think a lot of people around the world also don't realize how much they're missing out on.

One of the things that we run into a lot down here is "no thanks, I'm already save." It's like, yes that's right, the Savior's Atonement has saved us all from death but are you taking full advantage of everything else it promises us? It's one thing to believe in Christ - to believe that he suffered for our sins and pains and afflictions and died on the cross and was resurrected so we can live again - but do you KNOW that he did that for YOU are you ready to accept his grace and his mercy for every second and every minute that you've ever existed?

I was talking about the Atonement with S.Hawkins and we decided that the need to endure to the end - to be constantly having faith, repenting, renewing baptismal covenants, and relying on the spirit - is actually one of the most important things for realizing the full power of the Atonement in your life. Because the Atonement is infinite, each time we go through the process in believing in the Lord, acting on that belief through repentance, and renewing those ordinances it helps us understand and believe just a little bit more of the Atonement. So that when we stand before Heavenly Father at the judgement day we can truly believe and accept that Christ can transform us into something celestial. If we don't come to that full understanding, when we stand before God and Christ offers to take everything there will be things that we can't give up because sure you believe in Christ but you don't believe/trust that Christ can take it all.

I probably didn't explain that very well but I suggest you all read "Believing Christ" by Stephen E. Robinson because he says it in ways that I can't.

Love you all and loving you more as I learn to love as the Lord loves.

--
Sister Gillespie

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