The"Other Part" of Missionary Work

Temple Day with Sister Morrell:)

A day in the life.....

Blood on a stick :)

Tatays baptism is next Saturday!  Love him!

The day the fan ate my favorite skirt.

Stopped to help a woman make stoves..great way to OYM

WEEK TWENTY-TWO
 Hello to my sweet family,

So these missions, they’re a funny thing.  So much of the time we get the glorified version.  In letters home, in journal entries, in homecoming talks.. we hear all about the successes and life changing moments in the life of the missionary and the lives of the investigators.  We hear about the role of the Holy Ghost, the promptings of the spirit, the strengthening of our testimonies.  But there is a very large “other part” to missionary work.  And I feel that this “other part” that gets left out is just as important to experience and understand.. Because its what makes the experiences we always hear about so sweet.

So this “other part” is made up of a lot of lessons that don’t quite go right.. where you and your companion can’t quite find the right flow.  It's made up of breaking down and crying in the middle of lunch at Mang Inasal. It’s made up of trying to figure out how to “unoffend” someone you have offended.  It’s made up of being asked a question and not knowing the answer.  It’s made up of learning how to follow promptings of the spirit, sometimes after a few times of not listening. Its made up of sitting in lessons in an awkward silence where you’re trying to find a scripture.  Its made up of ‘yes I think I finally got this thing down’ to just be humbled one more time.. yes, the Lord humbles you every single day. The Lord humbles me every single day.

This other part really is the majority in part. 

it is humbling

heartbreaking

disappointing

comical

frustrating..

yet, there is nothing sweeter than kneeling down at the end of your day

being aware of all the imperfections

and recounting  to your Father in Heaven all of the areas where you need to improve and try harder on tomorrow

but being able to honestly tell Him that you gave your best that day

and then to feel his love so softly surround you.

I think what He asks of us is that we simply get up and try a little harder the next day.  And as we do so that’s when we get to tell the stories about the things that go right.  All of these failures and awkward funny moments, all of these disappointing moments, are teaching me a whole lot quicker than if things continuously went perfectly.

Try and try again

And maybe improving just a little bit each time.  ..

by small and simple things. ..

line upon line

I loved one of Tmans letters from a while back where he said “we all just need Jesus Christ so much” I’m learning more about the truthfulness of this statement every single day.  All I know is that I do need my Savior so much.  I need Him every hour.  I bear a simple testimony that I know He lives.  I testify that He lives.  And that He knows us personally. Of this I know with everything that I am. 

Its becoming so personal to me, His life and His love is becoming the most significant thing in my life and I don’t want it to ever change. 

Thought for the week: Read Alma 10

Vs. 6 Amulek talks about ignoring the promptings of the spirit “I was called many times and I would not hear”

I challenge you all to ask yourself if he is calling- and if he’s calling- are you listening?

I know that as we listen our lives will be guided and the Lord will bless us, and more importantly He will bless others through us.

I love this quote by our dear Prophet

 “The sweetest experience I know in life is to feel a prompting and act upon it and later find that it was the fulfillment of someone’s prayer or someone’s need.  And I always want the Lord to know that if He needs an errand run Tom Monson will run that errand for Him”.

So many times the Lord has answered my prayer through another person. So so many times. And I pray that He can always use me to answer someone else’s prayer or need.  So let’s all work on listening this week- and blessing the lives of others.  To let the Lord know He can count on the Welling fam J

I love you all more than I know how to say. I’m grateful for you every day. And I’m grateful for the opportunity I have to serve, every single day.

This church is true.

Manila Temple

Love always, 

Sister Welling