Always be yourself. Unless you can be Batman, then always be Batman.

Good morning :)

Sorry I'm emailing so late this week- we had appointments all afternoon, and this morning we decided to hit up the Salvation army. I got a Catcher in the Rye tshirt! Life is good. Clearly.

Ok! This week! We're still teaching this one family, but we can never seem to get through all the lessons because every time we get there they've brought a friend over and they want us to start over! So that's been fun. I really love answering questions. There's a trend these days to lean towards anything that's known as "nondenominational," which is sweet in theory, but when what that really translates to is not having any doctrine. Nondenominational seems to work alright if all people want is good morals, but Christ established a church so that we could receive truth. Not talking about the issues doesn't exactly fix anything, and it doesn't teach anything. It's just running.

"And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ: That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ." 
-Ephesians 4:11-15

When we went to teach that family on Tuesday, 3 teenagers were sitting on their couch. When we mentioned that we were going to have a lesson they asked if they could stay! I love kids who have questions. One of them asked question after question after question. I absolutely LOVED it! I loved it because questions are good! They are good if we are willing to be patient, to trust God, and to feel truth. He still had a ton of questions when we left but we had other appointments to get to that day. We will be meeting with that group again tomorrow afternoon. Everybody has questions! It doesn't seem to me that God intended us to go through this life confused without a way to find light and truth.

"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him."

-James 1:5

Sometimes it takes awhile, but understanding comes. Truth exists, regardless of our acknowledgement of it or obedience to it. I am grateful for that.

General Conference was phenomenal! I've been having trouble narrowing down my favorites...but I think it's between one given by Elaine S. Dalton and one given by Dieter F. Uchtdorf. When I was listening to Sister Dalton I was reminded of how grateful I am to be a woman, and to know that I am a daughter of God. It's hard to describe how I felt as I listened to her. I felt whole and capable and happy. I hope you all take the chance to watch that if you haven't already. Elder Uchtdorf talked about light and darkness. He talked about a woman who lived in adverse circumstances for much of her early life. To demonstrate the point of his address, he said:
"She sought counseling and medical help and began to realize that, for her, the best path for healing was to understand and accept that darkness exists—but not to dwell there. For, as she now knew, light also exists—and that is where she chose to dwell."
He goes on to discuss how the source of this light is Jesus Christ. How grateful I am to know that!
Sister Dalton's talk:
https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/we-are-daughters-of-our-heavenly-father?lang=eng
Elder Uchtdorf's talk:

https://www.lds.org/general-conference/2013/04/the-hope-of-gods-light?lang=eng

Pay attention to how you feel as you read or watch or listen to their addresses. I know their words to be true.

Things are still good in all other realms of missionary life. It still hasn't sunk in that I'm leaving really...I've been told it won't sink in until I'm on a plane heading south, but I suppose we'll see. I am happy to be here, and I'll be happy to hug all of you again. Can't complain either way.

I hope everyone is well in the muggle world! Don't forget about me in the next few weeks, ok?

Love,
Sister Raines