Tiny Bibles

"The world is a beautiful place, and perhaps nowhere more so than during the Autumn in New York." -Patricia West



Dear friends, this week was pure insanity. The mom in the family we've been teaching took off- she's moved out and taken to drinking which she's apparently never done in her life. Mary has been sick all week so we weren't able to see her, and Connie has decided she wants to continue to learn more on her own without our assistance. That's all we've had- my hope has been building in people and their ability to choose to do the right thing against all odds or circumstances, and then this week I had to see if I really believed that. I don't really have that much evidence that it happens ha. A few weeks ago I started a "joy in the journey" focus and study. It's interesting to me that as I started to try and learn to find happiness and peace in life regardless of circumstance, Heavenly Father upped the stakes to see if I was really serious about learning this lesson. Well let me tell you, I am! And I admire the attitude of Pat West, who said the above quote in a talk she gave yesterday.


Yesterday another missionary and I were going through Moroni chapter 7 and we started talking about things we take for granted so often. In the list were things like living in a free country, use of limbs, modern medicine, technology, food supply...it really could go on forever. I started thinking about my "joy in the journey" theme in that light and it occurred to me that it's silly that I even have to search to find joy in a journey with so many blessings. As I sat in church yesterday my heart was heavy looking around at all of the families I've come to know and love so much. As a missionary you get a very personal view of the challenges and obstacles people face. Brockport is littered with people in pain, each of them tirelessly searching for peace. It can be easy to be overwhelmed with the things that hurt, it's true. I'm embarrassed that so often I focus in so much on the hard things that the blessings become blurry and sidelined. Life is hard- it wasn't created to be easy because then we would emerge unchanged. It's also a beautiful, magnificent gift. I am grateful for perspective.


You all may have heard this already but someone said it yesterday and I think it's sweet so I'll share:
'Your task is to build a better world,' God said.
I answered, 'How?... this world is such a large, vast place
and there's nothing I can do.'
But God said, in all His wisdom said,
'just build a better you.'

I want so much to help people make good decisions- to resolve disputes through love instead of contention, to make selfless decisions instead of selfish ones, to keep working and trying even when weary, to give to others even when we don't think we have anything to give, to pray when we're not sure if anyone is even there to listen. If I could I would instantaneously instill hope in everyone who reads this, but it means more when you look for it on your own anyways.

This week is going to be a better one! Not necessarily because better things will happen, but because I'm determined to be better. You'll see :)

That's all for this week, I think. I sure do love a lot of people out there- I hope you're all doing alright.
Till next week,
Hermana Ray

P.S. This morning I remembered the fish kiss thing Sean and I used to do and busted up laughing. He's gonna kill me for embarrassing him when I get home! Muahaha