My Letter to Clarissa

I figured that I would post this so you can all read it. In our Sunday School lesson yesterday on Alma 36-39. One of the "goals" of the lesson was to help the class members understand how to teach and give advice to their children. Since none of us are parents the teacher talked about how we could give advice to our co-workers and siblings. We talked a lot about being good examples and bearing testimony. Anyway, here is my letter to Clarissa.

August 18, 2008

Dear Sis,

It has been an interesting month so far. I have found that I have had a lot of opportunities for service that happened because I was put in the right place at the right time.

First, my friend's mom (Enid) has been having some pretty major health issues. She has been diagnosed with Uterine Cancer and also has diabetes and has had some issues with her heart. She is currently on welfare and medicare and is financially in trouble. This summer my job has been pretty relaxed as far as hours go. Basically, I can go in when I want to and leave when I want to. That has been really nice because Enid has often needed rides either to Wal-Mart or to the Doctor. I have been able to help her out a lot. This last time she tried to take me to lunch afterwards, but, since I was driving, she didn't get to. She always tells me how wonderful I am and what a difference it makes, but all I can think is... "If I didn't do this for you, who would?" Yeah other people can drive, but I have the time and the means, so I do it.

Second, my school just moved to a new building. This has been quite the headache and hectic summer for several people, which is why we are waiting to start until September 2nd, instead of starting on August 18th (as in TODAY) like so many other people that I know. Anyway, the point of my bringing this up is because my ward had the opportunity (because I arranged it) to go over and sort the library books as a service project. It was a good project that saved the school about 20 hours of work. I would not have had that opportunity if I didn't work there. And also, because of this service project a few people have approached me about wanting to come to the school and read to the kids.

Third, As I mentioned briefly at the end of my last letter I may have broken my toe. It was a week ago and all I did was catch my pinkie toe on the corner of my bed as I was stepping... the pinkie toe got wrenched to the side as the rest of my foot continued forward. I would insert a picture, but it's pretty nasty looking. Anyway, this last week, Wednesday through Friday, was our ward camp-out. I wasn't going to let a little broken toe stop me from attending, so I was still there. It was mostly okay, but walking to and from the lake wasn't the greatest. At one point I was in a bit of pain and this girl, Stacy, was kind enough to get me some ice to put on it. The next day I decided that I had had enough of the boat and being in the sun (I had also sun burnt my eyes... weird, I know.) and so I stayed at the campground instead of going to the lake. After taking a shower... which was miraculously warm (I'd showered there the day before and it was freezing cold)... I went into the bathroom to primp. Stacy happened to be in there doing the same thing and I could tell that she was a bit down. We started talking and talking and talking. Yeah, it turns out that she gets down for basically the same reasons I do, ie not fitting in, not dating, etc. We ended up hanging out in my tent and playing a Disney Trivia game and talking for about three hours. All I could think afterwards was that I had sunburned my eyes and decided to stay in camp for a reason, so I could be there for her.

The Lord definitely does work in mysterious ways. He gives us experiences not always for ourselves, but often for others. I was feeling bummed and not very pretty and unable to go on the boat when there was Stacy needing a friend. I want to be married and yet, the majority of the people that I give service to... I never would have met if I were married. I have to be grateful for the opportunities that I have been given to serve and realize that it's not always about me.

I found the FHE Calendar that Trina made for 2007 today and read the quote for this week. It says:
"True, enduring happiness, with the accompanying strength, courage, and capacity to overcome the greatest difficulties, will come as you center your life in Jesus Christ. Obedience to His teachings provides a secure ascent in the journey of life. That takes effort. While there is no guarantee of overnight results, there is the assurance that, in the Lord's time, solutions will come, peace will prevail, and happiness will be yours. ... Peace and happiness are the precious fruits of a righteous life. They are only possible because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ." -- Elder Richard G. Scott
The line that sticks out to me the mast is "That takes effort." You have to try and do the right things you can't just sit back and relax and expect to find peace and happiness. Yeah, this takes WORK!

So as I was telling my roommate about my toe she mentioned an acronym for how to take care of it. It's RICE, which stands for Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation. I was thinking about how we could change that acronym to apply to missionary work and life in general and this is what I came up with. R - research, read, reach... Research = reading the scriptures and praying, Read the scriptures, Reach out to others. I - Impressions, Inspiration. We need to be watching and listening for the impressions and inspiration we get and then following through on it. C - Compassion, Commitment, Concentration. Compassion for those around you, Commitment to the cause you are working towards. Concentration or focus on the task at hand, instead of letting yourself get distracted. E - Endure Enthusiastically. Yes, you need to endure to the end, but do it with enthusiasm and energy. Don't let yourself get down (something I need to work on).

I also mentioned about finishing the Book of Mormon recently and I have decided what I'm going to do as I read it this next time. I have one of those blue copies (you know, the kind you hand out) and a red colored pencil. Every time I come to a promise I am going to hi-light it. Just in the introduction I've hi-lighted three different promises. The last two paragraphs of the intro are completely hi-lighted. There are such amazing promises for just reading this book, pondering it, and asking if it is true. The other promise I have hi-lighted is in Alma 36:3, which is what our Sunday School lesson was on yesterday... well, it was on Alma 36-39, but you get the idea. The promise says, "...whosoever shall put their trust in God shall be supported in their trials, and their troubles, and their afflictions, and shall be lifted up at the last day." That's an awesome promise and then Alma bears testimony about how he knows this.

Our Sunday School teacher then talked about testimonies. He talked about his conversion story (even though he was raised in the church... aren't we all converts?) He read a portion of the section on testimony in "True to the Faith." One of the points he made was that "Your testimony will grow gradually through your experiences. No one receives a complete testimony all at once." It's like that song in Saturday's Warrior... line upon line, precept on precept. The important part is that you keep trying.

The other scripture that stood out in this lesson is one of my favorites, Alma 37: 6-7. "...behold I say unto you, that by small and simple things are great things brought to pass; and small means in many instances doth confound the wise." Which brings me back to the service that I did. Those were small and simple things in my mind. Sorting library books doesn't take a lot of intelligence. Driving to pick someone up is not a big deal. Playing Disney Trivia and talking, also, something small and simple. Yet, these things are huge. I remember one time while I was at Ricks. I was feeling like no one really knew me and I was, well, I was homesick. And I remember walking into my dorm courtyard and passing someone. That girl looked at me, smiled, and said, "Hi, Tawnia!" And then she continued on her way. It had a huge impact (I don't remember who it was, but I still remember the incident) because she knew my name. That was huge! And yet it was such a small thing.

Clarissa, while you are on your mission you are going to have many, many opportunities to do service. Some of those opportunities will not result in the person gaining a testimony of the gospel, but you may just be planting the seeds that will be harvested in years to come. On the other hand, you may get to harvest some of the seeds that others have planted. Either way, you are on the Lord's errand, doing His work. It's not about you right now. And, honestly, I think most of life is not about "me" or "you." It's about helping each other.

I am glad to hear that you are learning to appreciate your family more while you are on your mission and that you miss us, but now is not the time for you to be worrying about us. Yes, write us letters and let us know how you feel and how the work is going, but focus on the task at hand. Remember to get your RICE. Take the opportunities to serve, no matter how small. You never know what a difference you will make in someone's life. Take the time to strengthen your testimony and remember who's work you are doing.

Be Good. Be Nice.
Love you, Miss you, So Proud.
Tawnia